B08510918 PDF
B08510918 PDF
B08510918 PDF
Abstract: Waste generation and its management are being widely debated across the globe and in recent years,
it has become a niche spot. Both the developed and developing countries are trying to find out new ways for
climate change mitigation and adoption options respectively. Global climate change is a burning issue and
presently Bangladesh is facing grave situations. A large proportion of the waste is not properly managed and
dumped in unplanned sites that are creating severe environmental hazards. Gradually, it can be replicated in
each urban and rural centre and growth points of Bangladesh can play a vital role in climate change mitigation.
Implementation of the 3Rs will have a profound socioeconomic impact, also modern 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle) strategy acts as a sustainable and socioeconomic option for climate change mitigation by reducing
green house gas (GHG) emission from the municipal solid waste.
Keywords: Dhaka City Corporation, Green House Gas (GHG), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Waste
management, 3Rs.
I. Introduction
Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation and its management are being widely debated across the
globe at various events, from local forums to international conferences and summits. Solid waste management
became a niche spot in recent years. The conspicuous intensity of building causes difficulty in waste collection
from the city particularly from the Dhaka area. There are a number of studies available on waste generation and
characterization of six City Corporations and some municipalities in Bangladesh [1, 2]. In Bangladesh context,
all the landfill sites are unmanaged and open dumped. These sites can be the optimal candidates for Landfill gas
emission. A significant amount of municipal waste is dumped in the dumping sites which produce significant
amount of CH₄ for emission into the atmosphere. Rapid urbanization and population growth are largely responsible
for very high increasing rate of Municipal Solid Waste generation in the urban areas like Bangladesh, which is
densely, populated Least Developed Asian Countries (LDACs). These scenario posses a social, environmental and
professional threat for city dwellers, urban planners, development authorities and other concerned stakeholders. In
Bangladesh, a major portion of population does not have access to waste collection services and only an
insignificant fraction of the generated wastes are actually collected by door-to-door collection system introduced
by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) in late 90‟s against tiny
payment [1]. Also the collection pattern and average rate of recycling varies with the size of the city, e.g. in the city
corporations it is around twice as much as in the Pourashavas and other urban areas. 4 to 15% of the total generated
waste is being recycled by the informal sector. It is estimated that every year Tk 10,706 million can be saved
through recycling and it can be increased by properly maintaining the 3Rs manners. In Dhaka alone, approximately
0.12 million urban poor are involved in the recycling chain. [3, 4 and 5]
The basic objectives of this article is to get an general idea regarding the waste management system
and waste generation, green house gas effects, implementation of 3Rs strategy and its benefits, management of
3Rs and risk assessment. Additionally this paper will unveil the answers some of the questions like how 3Rs can
be a significant tool for waste management in Bangladesh by reducing GHG emissions and also expose some
guidelines for different organizations concerning how to implement 3Rs to extract maximum benefits from
products and to generate minimum amount of waste.
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Developing 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse And Recycle) Strategy For Waste Management In The Urban Areas…
an aim to promote global action on 3R. In March 2006, a Senior Officials Meeting on 3Rwas organized in Japan
resulting in strong commitment of governments and other stakeholders to implement 3R at local, national, and
regional level. [13]
For most of the developing countries of Asia, MSW management has become a difficult task. The
existing system is to collect and dump to the land fill. For promoting 3Rs in developing countries the
participants of 3R South Asia Expert Workshop identified some priority issues which are: a) establishing 3Rs
related policies along with environmentally sound recycling industries b) supporting improving informal waste
recycling and c) utilizing financial incentives and market forces. The popular and well known concept of “3Rs”
refers to reduce, reuse and recycle particularly in the context of production and consumption. [14] It calls for an
increase in the ratio of recyclable materials further reusing of raw materials and manufacturing wastes and
overall reduction in resources and energy used. The ideas are applied to the entire lifecycles of products and
services, this theory can be applicable in the agricultural sector also.
The Global 3Rs initiative aims to promote the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) globally so as to build a
sound material cycle society through effective use of resources and materials. Waste Concern - an NGO
working with waste management proposed a decentralized waste collection and composting scheme to manage
the MSW in a sustainable manner. But under the present conditions this would not be feasible, as the availability
and price of land in and around Dhaka city for composting would not be financially viable [15].
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Fig 01: Average Composition of the waste generation in Bangladesh (compiled from different sources)
The above figure-01, shows the Figure
average composition
1 Bangladesh of the
Urban waste
Waste generated in Bangladesh, where 68% is
Composition
biodegradable waste or food & vegetable waste, 8% is paper, 6.1% plastic, leather and rubber, while 2% is metal
and glass waste.
Ultimate disposal of all types of waste is done crudely in open dumps, lowlands or water bodies in an unsanitary
manner. As a result, the surroundings of the dumpsites are barely hygienic. The increasing demand for landfill is
also a big problem for the authorities to find suitable lands for dumping wastes. At current waste generation rate
the total land required for municipal solid waste per year with the existing collection efficiency and 100%
collection efficiency will be 141 acres and 273 acres respectively having a depth of 4 meters [5, 19].
Managing MSW cannot be single-handedly managed by the smallest administrative unit of a town or even by
the federal government. It has to be a concerted effort of all stakeholders; from waste generator, municipal
administrator to community based waste management committee, informal sector involved in waste
management and technology providers.
The following table shows the urban areas of Bangladesh:
City/Town *WGR(kg/cap/day) No of City/Town Population Average **TWG (ton/day)
Dhaka 0.56 1 6,728,404 4,634.52
Chittagong 0.48 1 2,622,098 1,548.09
Rajshahi 0.30 1 468,378 172.83
Khulna 0.27 1 967,365 321.46
Barisal 0.25 1 437,009 134.38
Sylhet 0.30 1 386,896 142.76
Pouroshovas 0.25 298 15,215,306 4,678.40
Other urban areas 0.15 218 9,217,612 1,700.65
Total 522 36,042,067 13,332.89
Table 02: *WGR= Waste Generation Rate, **TWG= Total Waste Generation
3.6 Recycling
Dhaka has historically relied on the informal recycling sector (e.g., waste pickers, of whom there are an
estimated 120,000) for the recovery of non‐organic materials. In an effort to recover more recyclable materials,
the city launched a source separation pilot program in 2012.
Transportation Transport
House holds Dustbin Containers Final Disposal
by rickshaw van Sites
Residents/NGOs/CBOs DCC
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meant to be a hierarchy, in order of importance. The waste hierarchy has taken many forms over the past
decade, but the basic concept has remained the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies [18, 19 & 20].
Emission calculation: 3Rs approach can reduce the emission from municipal solid waste up to 90%.
So we can calculate the emission with and without project scenario. This calculation will also help us to predict
whether this 3Rs project is feasible for CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) claim or not.
Impact on occupational and environmental health: Inadequate collection and disposal of waste poses
a serious health risk to the population. This causes environmental degradation in most cities of the developing
countries like Bangladesh. The informal labours, which are working in collection, transportation and processing
sectors never use any protective measure and are very vulnerable to infectious diseases.
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The action plan will be structured under the principles of efficient, accountable and transparent infrastructure
service provision.
Fig
06: Process of risk management
Predicted risks and their mitigation plan could arise from the following points which need to be mitigated:
a. Non cooperation of the stakeholders (household, waste collector etc)
b. Political disturbance
c. Protection from the waste pickers
d. Non-compliance in source separation
e. Non-compliance in source separation
f. Digesters events
g. Health risk of waste collector
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With the implementation of the project simultaneously capacity building of city corporations and community
bases organizations (CBO) will take place.
Socioeconomic and environmental benefits of the 3Rs Plan
The long-term objective is therefore to reduce the environmental degradation caused by solid waste. By using
anaerobic methods to manage the biodegradable waste, we are able to:
Minimize waste that needs to be disposed in centralized landfills, thus extending existing landfill
capacity and reduce the environmental impact of disposal sites.
Benefit the soil by using organic compost instead of chemical fertilizers and ensures sustainability of
the project at the local level; Reduced GHG emission and less air, water and soil pollution because of MSW
Empowerment of Women
The scheme aims at empowering women, and in particular women from socially and economically
disadvantaged groups and living with disabilities, by offering them continuous employment and a guaranteed
salary.
Poverty Alleviation and Improved Occupational Health
There will also be opportunities for the start-up of micro-enterprises in recycling, e.g. recycling of paper,
Cartons and Pet bottles. Good working conditions, continuous training and the adoption of scientific and
professional methods of handling waste will minimize health risks and other occupational hazards that are
common in informal settings.
Making the waste into resource by composting
Waste always has been treated as a burden to the community and the city corporation. But the scenario has
changed now; there are various techniques and processes through which the municipal solid waste can be
converted into valuable resources. If the waste generation is low then it can be compost or if the biodegradable
waste generation is high, then it can generate electricity by using anaerobic digestion depending upon the
feasibility. Comparatively the anaerobic digestion (produce electricity, solid and liquid fertilizer, 90- 95% CDM
claim) process is more desirable in terms of economic returns.
Thus if implemented successfully this 3Rs scheme will be a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank their colleagues at the department of Natural Science, American
International University Bangladesh, special thanks to Dr. Taffazzal Hossain for his valuable advice and
different Departments of City Corporations, NGO‟s for the fruitful discussions and useful suggestions.
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