Household Waste Management in Dhaka City for Better Environment

Household Waste Management in Dhaka
City for better environment

Ar. Raihana Pervin
Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Bangladesh University and Engr. Sheikh Ashraf Uz Zaman
Deputy Manager, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited

ABSTRACT
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the city with highest population growth in the world. Due to increasing urbanization the city is facing tremendous pressure on its basic utility services. Household waste management is also a big problem in the city. Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) collects 42% solid waste and dumps in the dumping sites. Rest of the waste remains unmanaged in the source place and deposit sites. Proper management of this waste is required to keep the environment healthy. Moreover, waste is not a waste only. Some waste can be converted into energy, some waste can be recycled, and some can be used for land filling. Now a day, the disposal and/or use of waste is burning issue in the perspective of environment. This paper addresses mainly two issues; Dhaka city’s present situation of household waste collection and its management. The study is mainly based on review and analysis of different literature and documents from concern authorities. In conclusion, the paper suggests some solution to current waste management problems.

BACKGROUND

Globalization, which is considered as an economic revolution for the developing world has created some troubling concerns in Bangladesh. One such concern is its impact on urbanization and the consequences that go with it. In the context of Bangladesh, it is like fueling the already unprecedented urban growth phenomenon and increasing the challenges that go with it. One key challenge is the management of municipal household waste. Household waste refers to waste material usually generated in the residential environment. Household waste is mainly classified in to two groups; organic and inorganic waste. Organic waste comprise of food and vegetables waste and other kitchen waste. On the other hand, inorganic waste comprises of plastic, glass, papers, etc
Though Bangladesh is still a relatively low urbanized country comparing to other developing countries, the rate of urban population growth is very alarming. In 1974 only 8.8% of the population lived in urban areas. But in 2001 it reached the value 23.4%. If we compare it to more recent years, the percentages of urbanization is now over 25% and the growth rate is more than 3.5% per year. The city at present time houses around 12 million residents. The per capita household waste generation in Dhaka is around 0.34 kg per day which constitutes 1,950 ton household waste per day in the city. (Source: The study on the solid waste management of Dhaka city, Final Report, Volume 1) Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is now collecting only 44 % of the generated volume. This means more than half of waste is not properly collected and disposed at official dump sites. Uncollected waste has been recognized as the root of inferior environment such as scattered garbage, offensive odor; drain clogging, water pollution and mosquitoes. DCC has three disposal dump site at Matuail (capacity 65 % of the total collected waste), Berri Band ( 30 %) and at Uttara (5 %).

1. Present Situation of Solid Waste management in dhaka city A. Primary Collection

Task distribution in Waste Collection: Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance is the basic law regarding street/drain cleaning, waste collection and transportation. DCC provides dustbins or other receptacles at suitable places. Residents bring their waste to the dustbins or receptacles. DCC is responsible for secondary waste collection to remove waste from its dustbins/containers, and transport the waste to final disposal sites.

Figure 1. Waste Collection System in Dhaka City

• Private Initiative in Primary Waste Collection: It is commonly observed that Non Government Organization (NGO), Community Based Organization (CBO) or private firm is engaged in primary collection in Dhaka City. It is said that more than 130 organizations were providing the door-to-door waste collection services in 1999 and the number is still increasing.

• DCC Initiative in Primary Waste Collection: In 2002, DCC introduced an approval system of NGOs/CBOs/private organization for providing door-to door waste collection services ward-wide. DCC has given approval to 47 NGOs to work in 57 areas.

Photo 1 Various Designs of Rickshaw Vans Used for Primary Collection

B. Secondary Collection
At present DCC has five departments to collect waste from primary collectors and to transfer it to final dumping spots. a. Conservancy Department: Conservancy Dept. which is the core organization for solid waste management, undertakes street and drain cleaning, carrying street and drain waste to dustbins/containers, and loading and unloading of waste at places of dustbins/containers and disposal sites. b. Transport Department: Transport Dept. is in charge of transportation of waste from dustbins/containers to disposal sites. c. Engineering Department: Engineering Dept. is involved in solid waste management for operating heavy equipment at disposal sites and repair of vehicles and heavy equipment. d. Store and Purchase Department: This Dept. procures conservancy appliances, such as broom and basket, at the request of Conservancy Dept. e. Urban Planning Department: This department undertakes the pilot project for privatization in 8 wards.
For installation of dustbins and container, Ward Commissioners makes a request to the Mayor. When the Mayor approves the request, the order is given to the Conservancy Dept. to install them. The Conservancy Dept. then asks Engineering Dept. to construct the dustbins or to install containers. Currently, there are 1,071 receptacles are deployed in the city. • dust bin 688 units • 6m3 container 260 units • 12 m3 container 123 units

C. Final Disposal at Landfill Sites:
Matuail is the only official landfill site owned by DCC and is estimated at 1.1 million tons with the remaining capacity. The rest, Berri Band and Uttara dumpsites are on privately owned land. It is explained that owners of the land have requested DCC to fill the low lying land with solid waste. In response to their request, DCC started disposing of solid waste there. However, neither of the sites has got the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) yet.
Table 1. Existing Landfill Sites in Dhaka

|Name of the site |Area |Start operation |Incoming trucks |
|Matuail |20 ha |1993 |282 |
|Berri Band |4 ha |Not clear |138 |
|Uttara |1 ha |2003 |18 |

Source: JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Study Team

D. Recycling/Compost
Stakeholders of Recycling Activities:
Recycling stakeholders of municipal household waste are composed of three principal groups: namely, collectors, buyers and factory/shops for recycled products. The collectors are of two types: one group is commonly known as feriwalla who buys waste products especially newspaper, old books, worn cloths etc from households. And the other group collects recyclable waste from dustbins or dumping areas and sells them to Recycling Factories which are usually small-sized and located in old Dhaka area.

Compostable Wastes:

Composting can turn Household Wastes into valuable fertilizer. Household organic wastes, which are known as kitchen wastes are considered as great source of decomposing. At present, there are five small-scale compost plants in Dhaka City. The total capacity of 5 plants totals 19 t/d however, they are at present producing approximately 1.5 ton per day only in Dhaka.

Table 2. Estimated Volume of Recycled Wastes in Dhaka City
|Material |a) Estimated |b)Estimated |c)Recycle rate |d)Contribution to waste|
| |generation of |recycled waste | |reduction |
| |recyclables(t/d) |(t/d) | |(b/3,200) |
|Plastic |124 |103 |83% |3.2 % |
|Paper |260 |168 |65 % |5.3 % |
|Glass |46 |24 |52% |0.8 % |
|Metal |27 |41 |* |1.3 % |
|Compostable |2,211 |6 |0 % |0.2 % |
|Others |99 |94 |95% |2.9 % |
|total |2,767 |436 | |13.6 % |

d) Assumed total municipal solid waste generation : 3,200 (t/d)

Source: Survey on recycle market by the JICA Study Team

2. Participation of city dwellers and community based organizations in waste management:

In order to manage household waste the authority can very easily involved the city dwellers to understand and support their activities. As it is clear that due to limited resources and organizational capacities, it is hard for DCC to ensure efficient waste collection and disposal services to the entire city population. For example, “participation” could mean that people stop throwing their waste in vacant lands or roads and give the waste properly to waste collectors. Some kinds of informal communities called “Shomity” and “Ponchayt” exist in Dhaka City. They are association of neighborhoods. Their main activities include community security, waste collection, road widening, sports and culture. On the other hand, there are various civic organizations working in local areas for specific purposes (CBOs). CBOs have emerged in response to the various needs of the concerned locality. There are now approximately 1,830 CBOs in Dhaka City. CBOs provide door-to-door collection services and pay the charge.
The pilot project of Dhanmondi Solid Waste Management is the first DCC approved Solid Waste Management Pilot Project and Sheltech Consultants (Pvt.) Ltd. (SCPL) is the organization that is carrying out the project. Initially the project has started in a small chunk of Dhanmondi Residential Area (Block G & H) to find out and determine more possibility of interactions and feedback to apply effectively in whole Dhanmondi area.
JICA Study Team conducted a Household Awareness Survey in February 2004. The survey was composed of Household Questionnaire Survey (340 samples) and Focus Group Discussion (Ward 19: Gulshan, Ward 23: Khilgaon, Ward 61: Lalbag, Ward 84: Saidabad/ Jatrabari). By analyzing the findings of the household questionnaire survey we can get a scenario of public involvement to manage household waste.
88% of the upper group and 75% of middle group receive door-to-door collection services, while only30% of lower group receives such services. 51 % of lower group households dump their waste in vacant lands/river/marsh, while only 5% of upper group and 4% of middle group do that. 80% in new urban areas receive the service from CBO and 14% from private companies. In old urban areas, 64% of households receive the service from CBO and 19% from DCC cleaners. In Old Dhaka, 78% replied DCC cleaners provide the service. 91 % of upper group and 88 % of middle group give or sell recyclable waste, while only 29 % of lower group do that. 70% of upper group, 68 % of middle group and 75 % of lower group are not willing to participate in waste segregation activities. 77 % of all respondents replied that they are willing to participate in activities on solid waste management in their communities.

3. Some reasons of deficiency of present household waste management:
Though both DCC and many organizations are working to collect waste from households of Dhaka city, existing scenario is very alarming. The dustbins are not well maintained and their number, position and capacity are not sufficient to hold the increasing amount of household waste and they are not supervised properly, so animals and scavengers throw the waste out of the dustbins while searching food and recyclable materials. Moreover, the efforts that are taken by NGOs and other community organizations have not so far provided a relief for the poor impacts of inadequate solid waste management, as they only provide the service of door to door collection and then dump that waste at the dustbins located on the main street, where from DCC has to collect the waste for final disposal. DCC is not efficiently removing the waste from the dustbins due to financial and institutional limitations.
On the other hand, the city dwellers are not practiced to segregate their household wastes at home. They pour both organic and inorganic waste in the baskets and the primary collectors also collect it that way and dump them in dustbins. So we are not getting the full benefit of composting fertilizer from the organic kitchen waste. In Dhaka city, rag pickers contribute a great deal to segregate waste as they scavenge the recyclable matter. Thereby they save the municipality from the cost and time of collecting and transporting this to the dumps. But improper segregation and mixing of organic, inorganic and toxic wastes in dustbins reduce the value of waste.

4. Conclusion and Some Proposals:
Though DCC is encouraging community based organizations and local NGOs to organize and carryout community waste management program (mainly house to house co lection and disposal), some initiatives should be taken by both DCC and organizations to reduce the huge amount of waste by integrating people with their activities and making them aware about it. The following initiatives should be taken to improve the household waste management: 1. Awareness development among people to put the waste at the right place which in turn make it easier for waste collectors to collect it. 2. Awareness development among people regarding sustainable consumption which in turn produce less waste. 3. Awareness development among people regarding sort out of different types of wastes. (biodegradable, recycled, toxic) 4. Segregation of waste at source is required. People should use three different bins for different type of wastes. One for biodegradable waste, another for recycled waste and the rest for toxic waste. 4.1 Biodegradable waste should go to land fill site for composting or bio gas plants for energy generation 4.2 Non-biodegradable waste like paper, can, plastics etc. should go to recycle plant for reproduction 4.3 Toxic waste like medical waste should go to incineration plant for burning. The heat generation from incineration plant can be used for electricity generation.
Globalization and urbanization have come to stay. They have benefits as well as a good number of annoying problems. Finding solutions to problems associated with urbanization, while at the same time realizing their positive prospects would be the better way out. To cope with rapid growth of household waste due to increasing urbanization Government need to take some policy like decentralization or extension of Dhaka city. At the same time DCC should improve and upgrade its strength of both technical support and manpower. Government’s recent decision to divide DCC in two to four zones can bring some positive impacts as they will distribute the load and may function more accurately.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DCC, 2005: Clean Dhaka Master plan, The study of the solid waste management in Dhaka city (volume 1). Dhaka City Corporation, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Memon, Mushtaq Ahmed, 2002: Solid Waste Management in Dhaka, Bangladesh Innovation in Community Driven Composting
Grameen Shakti, 2006: Biogas Projukthi Nirdeshika. Grameen Shakti, Grameen Bank
Bhavan, Mirour-2, Dhaka. (Translated by Author)

-----------------------
Secondary Waste ccionteo

Primary Waste Collection

House holds Dustbins/ Containers

Final Disposal Sites

DCC

Residents/NGOs

Transport

Transport

Bibliography: DCC, 2005: Clean Dhaka Master plan, The study of the solid waste management in Dhaka city (volume 1). Dhaka City Corporation, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Memon, Mushtaq Ahmed, 2002: Solid Waste Management in Dhaka, Bangladesh Innovation in Community Driven Composting Grameen Shakti, 2006: Biogas Projukthi Nirdeshika