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Impacts of poor waste management

June 21, 2019 00:00:00


Bangladesh is the ninth most populous country in the world. Around 22.40 million tons of waste is generated by this vast population of the country every year. As the population increases every year, the size of waste products is also expanding. It is dreaded that the total amount of waste will reach 47, 064 tons for each day by 2025.

Waste is increasing because of its poor -particularly its civil variety --management. As a result, the kind of infections suffered by people in the country is also on the rise. Infections include intestinal sickness and respiratory problems, along with other diseases that are spreading through groundwater pollution.

Medical waste is also becoming a major concern. According to a recent report, 20 per cent of the medical waste being generated is "exceedingly irresistible". These are frequently discarded into the sewage channels, which is a very dangerous trend. Such careless dumping can cause more diseases. It is understood that as waste is often dumped into the drains, these flow into the rivers, causing harmful effects on people who use water from the river for various purposes. Also, such waste in the water helps the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes and leads to unbearable odours.

Different initiatives were taken by the government to address the issue in the country. The Dhaka City Corporation with help from the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), has been in the process of implementing a ground-breaking strategy for efficient waste management for quite some time. Till this project becomes operational and other steps are taken by the government and various non-governmental organisations (NGO), the country will be facing problems caused by such waste.

The citizens of the country can take their own steps by not dumping waste carelessly on the street, in water bodies, drains etc.

Jahid Hasan

Department of Business Administration

East West University, Dhaka

[email protected]


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