Waste is money

Each day Dhaka city produces over 3000 tons of household waste. The City Corporation collects almost less than half of it. The rest remains on roadsides and open areas. Cities are left struggling to handle the costs of waste management involving disposal technologies, and the impact of waste on the local and global environment.

Some private and community based organisations have proved that trash can be cash. At the Green Road Government Colony in downtown Dhaka, Waste Concern employees go door to door collecting refuse from 800 households, hauling it by rickshaw vans to a nearby shed. They sort out inorganic material before placing the trash into brick bins. Each month, the plant produces 3 tons of bio-fertiliser, which sells for about USD 0.04 per kilogram. The revenue is enough to make the operation self-sustaining, covering production costs and providing well-paying jobs to employees. Evidently, a lot can be achieved through innovative initiatives.

Mishkat Khan, On e-mail