Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Chinese Journal of Engineering

Volume 2014, Article ID 561935, 11 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/561935

Research Article
Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management System in
a Developing Country

A. Ahsan,1,2 M. Alamgir,3 M. M. El-Sergany,4 S. Shams,5

M. K. Rowshon,6 and N. N. Nik Daud1
1
Department of Civil Engineering, University Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Materials Processing & Technology Lab, Institute of Advanced Technology, University Putra Malaysia (UPM),
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
3
Department of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 920300, Bangladesh
4
e-School of Health and Environmental Studies, Hamdan Bin Mohamed Electronic University, P.O. Box 71400 Dubai, UAE
5
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Institut Teknologi Brunei,
Bandar Seri Begawan BS8675, Brunei Darussalam
6
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Correspondence should be addressed to A. Ahsan; [email protected]

Received 4 October 2013; Accepted 20 January 2014; Published 27 March 2014

Academic Editors: M. W. Bo and L. Mai

Copyright © 2014 A. Ahsan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This study represents a few basic steps of municipal solid waste management practiced in the six major cities of Bangladesh, namely,
Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, and Sylhet. A six-month field study was conducted to identify the solid wastes
management steps such as storage at source, separation, on-site storage, collection, transportation, treatment, reuse, recycling, and
ultimate disposal. This study addresses the role of the city authority to meet the demand of the city dwellers in solving this emerging
socioenvironmental issue and the initiatives taken by some nongovernmental organizations and community based organizations.
The problems and constraints of the solid wastes management system are also identified to find a sustainable management concept
for the urban areas of Bangladesh.

1. Introduction and the associated problems are similar in the developing

nations with variances between regions and locations based
During the last few decades, the problems associated with on geographic, sociocultural, industrial, infrastructural, legal,
municipal solid waste (MSW) management have acquired and environmental factors [2].
an alarming dimension in the developing countries. High In Bangladesh, like in most developing countries, the
population growth rate and increase of economic activities solid waste management has so far been ignored and least
in the urban areas of developing countries combined with studied environmental issues. Recently the concerned stake-
the lack of training in modern solid waste management holders have begun to consider this area to be an essential
practices complicate the efforts to improve the solid waste component to protect human health and nature. The urban
management services. In developing countries, the per capita population in Bangladesh has increased at a very steep rate
generation of the solid wastes in urban residential areas is of about 6% per year and concentrated mostly in six major
much less compared with the developed countries; however cities, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal,
the capacity of the developing countries to collect, process, and Sylhet. Current estimations showed that about 13% of
dispose, or reuse the solid wastes in a cost effective man- total population and 55 to 60% of total urban population are
ner is significantly limited compared with the developed living in these cities [3]. In these cities, the city authority,
countries [1]. The wastes generated by human settlements nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community based
2 Chinese Journal of Engineering

organizations (CBOs), and private organizations are working

together to manage the MSW system properly. However,
the overall situation remains unchanged. It becomes evident
that an integrated solid wastes management system (ISWM)
is required considering the relevant socioeconomic settings
and technological aspects of the country. To explore the
possibility of adopting an ISWM, the limitations, constraints,
and relevant experiences of existing management system are
required to examine explicitly. For this purpose, a feasibility
study has been conducted to identify the present status
including problems and limitations of MSW management
in the least developed Asian countries (LDACs) through a
research project, shortly named as WasteSafe [3]. The MSW
composition, generation, management, and recycling activi-
ties in Malaysia (another developing county) are reported by
Ahsan et al. [4] and Samah et al. [5, 6].
Studies have been conducted in the six major cities of Figure 1: Location of study sites.
Bangladesh, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi,
Barisal, and Sylhet, as shown in Figure 1, to identify the
strengths and weakness at all levels of the existing wastes
management systems starting from generation source to and 88∘ 01󸀠 and 92∘ 41󸀠 east longitude. The country is divided
ultimate disposal. Data and related information were col- into six administrative divisions in the same names of the six
lected for the last six months through field survey, public major cities, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi,
consultation, literature, and other appropriate means [3]. Barisal, and Sylhet. The six major cities are considered as
Source storage and separation are done in an informal and the present study sites. There are approximately 17.50 million
uncontrolled way; hardly 30–40% of city dwellers practiced people living in these six city corporations [10], generating
it. Door-to-door collection systems have been introduced about 7500 tons of MSW daily. Table 1 provides the basic
recently for wastes collection from the sources (e.g., houses) information of the six city corporations of Bangladesh. The
and then transport of the waste to the nearest secondary detailed characteristics of the MSW and the scenario of UDS
disposal sites (SDSs). Wastes are collected from generation can be found in Alamgir et al. [3, 11, 12] and Alamgir and
sources by NGOs, CBOs, and city authority by door-to- Ahsan [13, 14].
door collection systems. Where the door-to-door collection
system is unavailable, residents dispose the waste in the 3. General Setup of MSW Management
nearest community bins, SDS, open land, road sides, or
drains. With regard to the city authorities, wastes are collected City authority is responsible for overall management of
and transferred to ultimate disposal sites (UDSs). There is MSW in the city corporation areas. Generally, it consists of
no engineering or sanitary landfill in Bangladesh. All the two functional departments—conservancy and engineering
ultimate MSW disposal sites of Bangladesh are uncontrolled departments. Figure 2 shows the general setup of MSW
crude open dumping sites where even minimum environ- management in the city corporation of Bangladesh. Con-
mental protections are not provided. Recycling, reduction, servancy department is responsible for solid waste man-
and reuse are not getting support from formal authority, even agement including other utility services. Furthermore the
the composting, a great potential sector of waste treatment conservancy department supervises the wastes intensive
and minimization considering the nature of MSW in LDACs, workers for collection and transfer while the engineering
fails to reach the desired target due to improper planning [7– department is responsible for operation and maintenance
9]. As a result, city authorities are facing very complicated operations involved in the waste management cycle such as
situations for the management of the vast quantities of MSW. collection, on-site storage and transportation vehicles, and
Due to financial constraints, lack of motivation, absence of ultimate disposal sites. The salary of drivers and helpers of
effective legislation to protect the environment, and lack waste transfer vehicles is also maintained by the engineering
of commitment of authority, the MSW has been becoming section but salary and wages of wastes intensive workers are
a threat for city dwellers, planners, and other concerned maintained by the conservancy department. Figure 3 shows
stakeholders. the flow path of MSW from source to ultimate disposal, a
typical way to handle it in Bangladesh. Wastes irrespective
of types are generally deposited in the community bins and
2. Overview of Municipal Solid Wastes in SDSs either by the dwellers themselves or by NGOs, CBOs,
Study Areas city authority, or private sectors. In general, city authority
collects wastes from the secondary points and transfers to the
Bangladesh, the most densely populated LDAC, has nearly designated UDSs. Major portions of inorganic nonhazards
150 million people living in a flat deltaic land of 147570 km2 and slowly biodegradable organic wastes are recycled and
area that lies between 20∘ 34󸀠 and 26∘ 38󸀠 north latitude reused in the generation points, in the secondary points,
Chinese Journal of Engineering 3

Table 1: Basic information of six city corporations of Bangladesh.

City corporation City area Population Number of Wastes generation rate Total generation Ultimate disposal site
(sq. km) (million) Wards (kg/cap/day) (tons/day)
Dhaka 360 11.00 90 0.40–0.55 5000–5500 2
Chittagong 156 3.65 45 0.30–0.45 1200–1400 2
Khulna 47 1.50 31 0.30–0.40 420–520 1
Rajshahi 48 0.45 30 0.25–0.35 160–210 1
Barisal 45 0.40 30 0.20–0.25 100–140 1
Sylhet 26.5 0.50 27 0.35–0.45 200–240 1

Mayor a considerable portion of wastes, 40–60%, are not properly

(elected by city dwellers) stored, collected, or disposed in the designated places for
ultimate disposal. As a result, the unmanageable increasing
quantity of MSW creates alarming environmental problems.
Chief executive officer Residents participating in the existing solid waste man-
(government representative) agement system store their solid wastes in plastic or metal
containers of different sizes and shapes and keep them
inside their house or premises, mostly in the kitchen and/or
corridor. Waste collection workers collect the container, then
Conservancy department Engineering department dispose it into the collection van, and return the empty
container. Study reveals that source storage and separation of
organic, inorganic, and hazardous wastes are highly neglected
MSW management Transportation facilities
by the city dwellers. Generally, commingled solid wastes are
Street sweeping On-site storage facilities
collected in single-compartment vehicles. Where door-to-
Drain cleaning Ultimate disposal sites door collection systems are not available, house dwellers or
Insects control Repairing and maintenance servants carry wastes to nearby community bins/secondary
sites on their own. The waste collection trucks collect the
Figure 2: General setup of MSW management in the city corpora- wastes at regular intervals for ultimate disposal. Households
tion of Bangladesh. store the wastes at their own responsibility; however, some
NGOs and CBOs even supply the bins to motivate people
to cooperate with waste management system. Experiences
reveal that proper storage and disposal are first steps to
and even in UDSs. Composting is one of the common options achieve the desired goal of solid waste management. Moti-
for treatment and reuse of organic portions of MSW is done vation of house owners and the door-to-door collection
in a very small scale by dwellers, NGOs, private sectors, are proven to be very useful. However, the city authority
and even city authority. However, major portions of wastes has the lack of resources (e.g., manpower and budget) to
remain unmanaged—throwing them in the adjacent spaces, provide the door-to-door collection system for each house
roadsides, and drains. A portion of clinical wastes is managed [16]. Chittagong and Rajshahi city authorities are involved
by NGOs [15] and the remaining follows in the same path of in the door-to-door collection system [17]. In Khulna, total
MSW. management in a ward (out of 31 wards) including door-to-
door collections has been running by a private sector for the
last 10 years. Figure 4 shows the wastes collection system from
4. Source Storage and Collection of Wastes generation sources and disposal. The role of NGOs and CBOs
in waste management is reported by Ahsan et al. [16].
Residential wastes are the main sources of MSW in
Bangladesh. The other important sources are commercial
wastes including markets, hotels, and restaurants, hospi- 5. On-Site Storage
tal/clinical wastes, institutional wastes including schools,
colleges, universities, and government offices, construction On-site storage spaces are the SDSs, transfer stations, and
and demolition wastes, and municipal services wastes such handover points, which receive wastes from primary sources
as street sweeping, drain cleaning but excluding treatment and then the wastes are transferred from this point to the
facilities. In Bangladesh, a significant portion of population designated location for processing/recycling/treatment and
does not have access to waste collection services and only mostly for ultimate disposal. There is no transfer station or
a fraction of the generated wastes are actually collected by handover point in Bangladesh in a true sense. The SDSs are
door-to-door collection systems introduced by NGOs and considered as the facilities where large amounts of wastes are
CBOs in late 90s in Bangladesh for tiny payment. Moreover, accumulated and finally transferred to the desired sites by
due to a lack of motivation, awareness, and commitment, large vehicles such as open or closed trucks and demountable
4 Chinese Journal of Engineering

MSW

Household waste
Unmanaged
Clinical waste Institutional waste waste

Hazardous waste
Commercial waste
Sharp waste
Sludge, street
Reusable waste sweeping, demolition
waste
Kitchen waste
Door-to-door
collection
Washing and
shredding Community bin
Collection and
Closed
concrete transportation
chamber
Secondary disposal
site Compost plant
Burning unit
Collection and
Ashes transportation Market

Dug pit Ultimate disposal Recycling

site

Figure 3: Flow diagram of MSW management in Bangladesh.

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 4: Wastes collection from generation sources and disposal in secondary points.
Chinese Journal of Engineering 5

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 5: Secondary disposal sites of MSW.

haul container truck. A SDS may be an open space or roadside the total number of SDS and community bins is 1506: 849
accumulation of solid wastes. They are large concrete bins, masonry bin, 66 concrete bins, 32 steel container, and 558
demountable large steel haul container, roadside spaces, and open spaces. Besides, there are huge numbers of unautho-
unused open low-lying areas. In Bangladesh, city authority is rized small dumping sites spreading throughout CCC. In
solely responsible for providing SDS, collecting wastes from Khulna City Corporation (KCC), there are more than 60
SDS, and transferring for final disposal as per existing city SDSs, around 1200 community bins, and 28 haul containers
corporation act. These sites are located in the selected places located on roadsides throughout the city. In Rajshahi City
based on population, space availability, accessibility, and Corporation (RCC) areas, there are 44 open types SDSs and
other unseen factors. Wastes are deposited in SDS (Figure 5) about 190 community bins spreading over the whole city.
directly by the generators, NGOs, CBOs and city authorities. There are no dustbins in RCC areas; recently all the dustbins
In some cases, especially for the residential areas along nar- have been removed from SDS. Rickshaw van pullers collect
row streets where SDS is not suitable to provide, community wastes from different sources and dump them into the open
bins are provided, from where wastes are transferred to SDS. spaces randomly at SDS. There are 150 SDSs in Barisal City
A wide variety of types and shapes of community bins are Corporation (BCC) areas spearing unevenly over the whole
built by the civic bodies and/or city authorities, which are city; as a result, some wards of BCC do not have SDS. In Sylhet
located on the roadsides at frequent intervals. Community City Corporation (SCC) areas, there are about 74 SDSs out of
bins are mostly made of concrete but masonry and steel which only 30 to 35 sites are in use. In general, the SDSs have
containers are also available. The concrete and masonry bins bin(s) made of concrete or masonry. Recently, three large-
are in variable sizes but normally rectangular in shape which sized SDSs with better facilities have been constructed with
is one-meter wide, one-meter high, and one-/two-meter long. the assistance of an NGO.
Generally, there is a door at one side and no cover on the In the MSW management tier, SDS plays a very pivotal
top of the community bins. Wastes from community bins role. However, the situations of SDSs in all city corporations
are transferred to SDS mostly by city authorities through are very much unpleasant and alarming. The SDSs are
nonmotorized rickshaw van and hand trolley. deteriorating the city environment at a large scale as shown
In Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) areas, there are more in Figure 5. Since SDS, situated mostly at busy roadsides,
than 846 SDS, 640 community bins, and 206 waste con- receives and delivers wastes, proper management with very
tainers. For the last 2 years, two private organizations (in strict timing for collection and transfer is required which
6 wards) disposed the wastes from SDSs to UDSs. They cannot be addressed by the city authority with existing
built their own SDS (with a large area) and practiced better management system, so alternative options of SDS should be
management. In Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) areas, considered. In the meantime, BCC already demolished all
6 Chinese Journal of Engineering

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 6: Wastes collection, transportation, and ultimate disposal.

the permanent structures in SDS, while SCC is not using collection vehicles such as dump truck, normal truck, open
some points of SDS and already removed roadsides littering truck, tractor with trolley, tipping truck (container carrier),
boxes. DCC is preparing a master plan and KCC is consid- desledging vacuum tanker with tractor, and power tiller with
ering building a transfer station as an experimental station. trolley stand on the road nearby the SDS for operation. Staff
In such situation, options should be kept open to solve these are assigned with each vehicle for collection and disposal.
problems either by transfer station or handover points. Demountable containers are only hauled by tipping truck
and no workers are required for collection and disposal but
its numbers are also limited. Wastes are mostly collected in
6. Transportation daytime obstructing the movement of pedestrians and traffics
and also transported through busy city areas creating nui-
The functional element of collection includes not only the sance and pollution due to being overheaped and uncovered
gathering of solid wastes and recyclable materials but also and due to leakage of liquid from the wastes as shown in
the transportation of these materials after collection, to Figure 6. City authority does not have the required number
the location where the collection vehicle is emptied. Only of vehicles and staffs to perform the operation successfully.
respective city authority is responsible for collecting wastes Besides, the present management system is not capable of
from secondary points and transporting them by motorized utilizing the existing resources properly. As a result, the
vehicles/trucks and finally disposing them in the designated collection of wastes from SDSs is very disappointing and
UDS(s) of the city. Although NGOs and CBOs collect wastes creating a lot of hazards as wastes remain there for longtime.
from households/generation points and dump them in the Table 2 shows the total number of motorized vehicles and
SDSs, they do not take responsibility for the collection and amount of wastes collected, transported, and dumped in the
transportation of wastes from SDSs. However, in DCC it is studied sites.
found that two private companies have been collecting and
transferring wastes from SDS to the city authority’s UDSs for
the last 2 years. These two private companies served only 6 7. Ultimate Disposal Sites
wards out of 90 wards on a contract basis. In KCC, a private
company has been collecting and transporting wastes for The safe and reliable long-term disposal of solid wastes is
dumping them in the UDS for the last 10 years only in one an important component of integrated waste management.
ward out of the existing 31 wards. Although source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting
Conservancy department set up the time schedule and can divert significant portions of MSW, a large amount
fix vehicles for collection and transportation. Generally, of wastes still needs to be placed in landfills. There is no
Chinese Journal of Engineering 7

Table 2: Number of motorized vehicles with transport capacity. the existing sites are also going for early closure. People
also protested to close the existing sites because of nuisance.
Amount collected, The existing method, that is, crude open dumping for ulti-
City Number of
transported, and dumped
motorized vehicles mate disposal, is not supported by concerned environmental
(tons/day)
experts/stakeholders. Therefore, the city authority is thinking
Dhaka 373 2000–2400 of upgrading the existing sites to control the negative impacts
Chittagong 49 500–550 of the existing situation and may propose an environmentally
Khulna 32 240–260 safe sanitary landfill in accordance with local conditions and
Rajshahi 15 60–80 technological and financial capabilities.
Barisal 7 30–40
Sylhet 17 60–80 8. Waste Minimization and Treatment
The MSW management includes and is not limited to
the following components: source control, reuse, recycling,
controlled/engineered/sanitary landfill in Bangladesh. The
composting, land filling, and energy recovery. In the studied
sites are situated in and around the city areas of low-lying
cities, there is no controlled or planned waste minimization
open spaces, unclaimed lands, riverbanks, and roadsides.
program. Most of the recycling activities are conducted by
DCC and CCC, each operates at two sites, namely, Matuail
self-employed workers or scavengers as shown in Figure 8.
and Gabtali and Raufabad and Halishahar, respectively, while
other city corporations operate at one site each, namely,
Rajbandha, Shishu Park, North Kawnia, and Lalmati. All 8.1. Recycling. Recycling is the reprocessing of wastes, into
types of MSW are disposed including some portions of med- either the same product (closed loop recycling) or a different
ical/hospital wastes. Crude open dumping sites are always product (open loop recycling). It is the key mechanism to
incompatible with the surroundings. Wind blows wastes to recover useful products and reduction in waste quantity.
the surroundings. No proper land filling system is followed. Source separation is the best process where different cate-
Wind blows litters and spreading wastes outside the site and gories of recyclables and organics are separated at source, that
on the surrounding pond and adjacent surface water. is, at the point of generation, to facilitate reuse, recycling,
Environmental pollution at open dumping site may and composting. Informal sectors by various groups of
include air pollution, water and soil contamination due to community are playing an important role in recycling of
generation of leachate, gas, odor, dust, and potential fire solid waste in Bangladesh. All the buyers of the recyclable
hazard. The uncontrolled burning of solid waste creates items belong to the informal sector and only a few formal
smoke and other types of air pollution. Garbage nuisance manufacturers are involved in using recyclable substance
conditions also pose higher risks for human beings. As major as raw material. However, in the studied areas, recycling is
parts of disposed wastes are biodegradable organic wastes, not practiced widely and effectively except for certain urban
anaerobic decomposition gases are generated continuously. areas.
However, there is no provision for the management of these In Bangladesh, generally recycling is carried out in
gases in existing sites, causing risk of explosions and fire three phases. Phase one is the source separation, where the
hazard. In UDS, leachate may percolate and contaminate generators separate refuse of higher market value such as
surface and ground water because these sites are not designed papers and paper products, bottles, fresh containers, plastic
for leachate containment. The sources (tube-well) of ground- materials, tin, glass, metal, old clothes, and shoes and sell
water are very close to the UDS. People use this water these things to street hawkers. Hawkers collect reusable and
for different purposes like bathing, washing, drinking, and recyclable materials from house to house and sell them to
farming. Surface water is also contaminated because solid nearer “Vangari Dokans” (recycling shops). In the second
wastes are dumped near/at the marshy land, ponds, rivers, phase, the poor children of slum dwellers known as “Tokai”
and canals. Contaminated water is harmful for fish and are collecting different items of low market value from on-
aquatic lives by reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen in site storage bins/containers and open storage spaces. The
the water. Chemical and oil constituents, which are usually items include broken glass, cans, cardboard, waste papers,
mixed with MSW, can also cause severe water contamination rags, pet bottles, coconut shells, metals, and miscellaneous
that may kill water birds, shellfish, and other wildlife. Figure 7 commercial waste discarded by householders. The final phase
shows the current scenario of UDSs. Details can be found in is the recovering of reusable and recyclable materials from
Alamgir et al. [3, 12] and Mohiuddin et al. [18]. UDSs. Scavengers (Tokai) collect recyclable items mainly
The possible ways to reduce/remove the environmental when collection vehicles are being unloaded at dumping
pollution at the UDS are as follows: (i) a few gas flaring site. The reclaimed materials are sold to Vangari Dokans
units can be installed in different locations to burn the small by scavengers where intermediate processing like washing,
amount of gas and (ii) a thick clay liner using local soil can drying, and sorting is carried out in proper form and sell these
be installed before dumping the waste in any new locations things to whole sellers. Ultimately, all reclaimed materials
to protect the leachate percolation/contamination. are supplied to the appropriate processing factories for reuse
City authorities are facing problems to get new sites as raw materials. Plastic materials, in small scale, are also
for ultimate disposal. Due to nonengineered situation, exported to the capital city after shredding and cleaning.
8 Chinese Journal of Engineering

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 7: Typical ultimate disposal sites of MSW in Bangladesh.

Figure 8 shows the scenario of scavenging of recyclable forced to stop its operation due to the objection from adjacent
materials in a SDS and UDS. However, the ultimate success inhabitants. The situation of the surveyed compost plants is
of waste minimization might depend on the establishment of also not encouraging [3]; some of them are in a stage of
a good market price of these recovered materials. A few local closing the operation for the inherent reasons. In general,
small industries fully depend on the availability of reclaimed health and hygienic aspects are absent in all the compost
material for reprocessing. Commonly nonhazardous wastes plants. The staff are not properly trained and even do not care
are recycled in Bangladesh; however there is a strong need of using personal protective equipments. Most of them have
for recycling of hazardous or special wastes (e.g., solvents). been suffering from persistent diseases such as cough, allergy,
and skin problem [19, 20].
8.2. Composting. Another form of recycling is composting.
Controlled biological decomposition of organic wastes pro- 9. Integrated MSW Management Approach
duces a soil-like material known as compost. Composting
is nature’s way of recycling organic wastes into new soil As there is no “solution” for MSW problems; an approach
used in vegetable and flower gardens, landscaping, and many is required for evaluation, analysis, and synthesis of all
other applications. The MSW of Bangladesh is suitable for aspects necessary for the selection of an ISWM suitable for
composting due to its high moisture and organic contents. Bangladesh. The approach is to seek the improvement of
In Bangladesh, mainly NGOs are involved in composting. waste management through (i) a structural dialogue between
They are involved in composting of organic wastes in 4 stakeholders and (ii) the planning and implementation of
city corporations, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and change. The dialogue aims to promote desirable checks
Sylhet. There is no compost plant in Barisal and Rajshahi city. and balances between the focus and motivation of specific
Besides the city corporation areas, compost plants are also set interests through a modern spreadsheet: (i) to promote a
up in some municipalities with technical supports from expe- device to think the problems systematically and holistically,
rienced NGOs, financial support from donor agencies with and (ii) to help for setout more selectively a balanced
the collaboration of local city authorities. Recently, private “business and sustainability” for some proposed intervention
companies have also come forward to invest in this sector. action. The common spreadsheet format consists of (i)
However, this sector is also facing several problems such waste system components forming the row headings of the
as finance, appropriate technology, land, proper location, spreadsheet, that is, contain and collect; sort and recover;
supply of wastes, quality of wastes, quality of compost, and transfer and treat; and dispose and make safe, and (ii) aspects
marketing facilities. Recently, a compost plant in Sylhet was of evaluating components forming the column headings of
Chinese Journal of Engineering 9

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 8: Scavengers collect recyclable materials in SDS and UDS.

the spreadsheet, that is, sources and streams; costs and be solved by introducing IMSW management systems, based
returns; health and environment; and community and struc- on local needs and socioeconomic conditions to ensure
ture. The municipal authority may decide to set up four environmental sustainability.
working groups, corresponding to the four elements: contain
and collect, sort and recover, transfer and treat, and dispose
and make safe (after [21]). 10. Conclusions
The municipal authority may appoint independent chair-
persons, involved representatives from key stakeholders, and Rapid urbanization and population growth in the major cities
organized technical support and wider consultative processes of Bangladesh creates a huge generation of MSW and the
for each group. Overall programming and coordination are authority is unable to manage properly with the present
provided by the municipality itself. When the functional ele- management system, economic support, human resources,
ments of the waste management services have been evaluated infrastructures, and technological capabilities. Door-to-door
and selected and all the interfaces and connections between collection system needs to get support from all stakeholders
elements have been matched for effectiveness and econ- with proper awareness, motivation, and commitment cam-
omy, the concerned stakeholders/authorities/communities paign. Existing on-site storage practices should be changed
are said to have developed an integrated waste management immediately by adopting properly designed and maintained
system. The IMSW management is defined by researchers secondary disposal sites or transfer stations or handover
and academics as the selection and application of appro- points, where it is applicable based on the prevailing socioe-
priate techniques, technologies, and management programs conomic aspects. Efficiency of wastes transportation to the
to achieve specific waste management objectives and goals. ultimate disposal sites (UDSs) must be improved with the
Understanding the interrelationships among various waste participation of private sector with strict terms and condi-
activities makes it possible to create a plan in which individual tions. Present situation of UDSs requires improvement by
components complement one another. Figure 9 shows a providing a sanitary landfill mechanism in the existing sites.
model for the major elements of ISWM, which is modified Recycling can be extended with wide varieties of articles
of proposed one by Visvanathan et al. [21]. both in the formal and informal sectors. Government support
In general, the situation of MSW management in should be provided in composting, a prosperous sector for
Bangladesh is very alarming, poses serious health threats to managing a huge amount of organic wastes in Bangladesh.
humans and nature, and demands immediate and sustainable Since there is no single solution, the proposed techniques
solutions. The study concludes that the problems will only can be used to select an integrated solid waste management
10 Chinese Journal of Engineering

Important aspects of municipal solid waste management

MSW management
Stakeholders aspects

Government and local authorities Technical aspects

City dwellers Legislative/policy aspects

Economical/financials aspects
Civic societies

Financiers,
1. government, Environmental aspects
foreign agencies and others
Public/community involvement
NGOs/CBOs/private sector

Informal sectors Social settings

Political sector Cultural aspects

Generation
Source storage
Source segregation
Primary collection
Reuse
Avoidance and Handover points Recycling
Local assembling points Composting
minimization Recovery
Transfer station Reduction
Formal sorting
Transfer and transport
Safe disposal

Evaluation, synthesis, selection, demonstration, and reality check

Integrated management of municipal solid waste

Figure 9: Major elements of integrated MSW management.

system based on the local needs, socioeconomic settings, and [3] M. Alamgir, C. McDonald, K. E. Roehl, and A. Ahsan, Eds.,
technological capabilities to ensure the acceptability of the Integrated Management and Safe Disposal of Municipal Solid
adopted system and the environmental sustainability. Waste in Least Developed Asian Countries: A Feasibility Study,
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