Modernising city's garbage management system
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Garbage disposal in Dhaka, a city of well over 12 million people, remains archaic and, therefore, very inefficient to say the least. According to one reliable estimate, 5,000 tonnes of domestic refuses are created every day in Dhaka. Another estimate says that annually about 9.7 million tonnes of solid wastes are created in the city. From the figures, one should have no difficulty understanding that garbage disposal confronts the city with huge tasks to be performed on a daily basis.
Presently, garbage disposal in the city is carried out mainly by trucks stopping near dustbins and using manpower to load the garbage on the trucks for their ultimate dumping at landfills. But these landfills are poorly managed. Some of these are situated well within the metropolitan areas and are a source of serious environmental pollution for a large number of the city's residents. Besides, these are landfills in name only which are not leading to ultimate land formation from maintaining them.
The best international practice nowadays is to sort out the garbage and make proper use of them that include recycling. Advanced garbage management involves separating them into different categories and making commercial products out of them. For example, kitchen refuses and other biodegradable forms of garbage can be utilised to make organic composts that can be of much value to farming, specially safe farming with non-chemical fertilisers. Garbage of this type can also be burnt to produce power. Other forms of garbage such as tin, rubber, plastics, etc., can be recycled to produce commercially valuable products.
The most important aspect of such garbage management is: the garbage is not allowed to be stockpiled. From the collection stage, the garbage goes directly into recycling or production processes to make useful products. Thus, the garbage just changes form into new usable products and non-piling up of the garbage helps mightily in keeping the environment clean.
The establishing of a modern garbage disposal or management system for Dhaka city with recycling and reuse of the garbage at its core, has become imperative for the sheer reasons of the present poorly managed system and to cope with the future pressure to be created from allowing garbage to accumulate in the traditional manner. It was heartening to note that the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) sometime ago made an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to set up a modern garbage recycling plant for Dhaka city. Under this project, the garbage of the city would be carried swiftly beyond the metropolitan areas to well-supervised sites. The garbage would be separated there using latest technology. Some of it would be burnt to produce power and the same could be added to the distribution network of the Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA). Other garbage like plastics, bottles, tin cans, etc., would be separated and recycled to make commercial products.
But the point of worry is that this project is not being pushed as hard as it should be towards its fastest completion. Like many other ambitious and incomplete projects, it is getting stalled by the bureaucracy and vested interest groups who have a stake in maintaining the present mode of garbage disposal. Therefore, the challenge for the government is to overcome these hurdles and introduce the modern system of garbage management at the fastest.
Presently, garbage disposal in the city is carried out mainly by trucks stopping near dustbins and using manpower to load the garbage on the trucks for their ultimate dumping at landfills. But these landfills are poorly managed. Some of these are situated well within the metropolitan areas and are a source of serious environmental pollution for a large number of the city's residents. Besides, these are landfills in name only which are not leading to ultimate land formation from maintaining them.
The best international practice nowadays is to sort out the garbage and make proper use of them that include recycling. Advanced garbage management involves separating them into different categories and making commercial products out of them. For example, kitchen refuses and other biodegradable forms of garbage can be utilised to make organic composts that can be of much value to farming, specially safe farming with non-chemical fertilisers. Garbage of this type can also be burnt to produce power. Other forms of garbage such as tin, rubber, plastics, etc., can be recycled to produce commercially valuable products.
The most important aspect of such garbage management is: the garbage is not allowed to be stockpiled. From the collection stage, the garbage goes directly into recycling or production processes to make useful products. Thus, the garbage just changes form into new usable products and non-piling up of the garbage helps mightily in keeping the environment clean.
The establishing of a modern garbage disposal or management system for Dhaka city with recycling and reuse of the garbage at its core, has become imperative for the sheer reasons of the present poorly managed system and to cope with the future pressure to be created from allowing garbage to accumulate in the traditional manner. It was heartening to note that the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) sometime ago made an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to set up a modern garbage recycling plant for Dhaka city. Under this project, the garbage of the city would be carried swiftly beyond the metropolitan areas to well-supervised sites. The garbage would be separated there using latest technology. Some of it would be burnt to produce power and the same could be added to the distribution network of the Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority (DESA). Other garbage like plastics, bottles, tin cans, etc., would be separated and recycled to make commercial products.
But the point of worry is that this project is not being pushed as hard as it should be towards its fastest completion. Like many other ambitious and incomplete projects, it is getting stalled by the bureaucracy and vested interest groups who have a stake in maintaining the present mode of garbage disposal. Therefore, the challenge for the government is to overcome these hurdles and introduce the modern system of garbage management at the fastest.