Urban Development on Municipal Solid Waste Management in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sammanfattning: Urban environment is a major global concern especially where the pollution isincreasing due to rapid growth of population along with less development of physicalinfrastructure. Municipal solid waste management (SWM) is now being considered asone of the most immediate and serious environmental issue for rapid increasing anddensely populated cities of least developing countries, unfortunately a large portion ofurban areas has no service for solid waste disposal. But globally, the amount of MSWhas been expected to double before the year 2025.Dhaka, the 28st largest in term of population (more than 10 million) and the fastestbudding city, faces a growing mountain of municipal solid waste from all sources,which is a serious threat to surface and ground water, the soil and air. The relativelyabsence of integrated approach, lack of co-ordination among stakeholders, but mostimportantly insufficient public awareness in existing municipal solid wastemanagement hide a great potential to move towards waste as resource in the way ofenergy production, material recovery, composting etc. However current highsubsidies and existing municipal authorities’ top-down approach of MWM have tomodify. An effective public-private effort supported by rules and regulations alongwith great population concern is essential for achieving social, economic andenvironmental sustainability.Stockholm has a practice of integrated municipal solid waste management to make agreen and clean capital of the world. Yet, the EU Directives of final disposal afterwaste treatment mainly has given more importance to safe environment (not to beendanger to present and future generation of living being). At the same time, wastereduction and resource recovery are also major concerns in MSWM in Stockholm.The discussion of MSW management of these two cities (Dhaka and Stockholm) donot match to compare but the contrast situation of MSW management define apositive way to develop sustainable approach through rules and regulations,innovative methods and their operation from the municipal solid waste generation to safe disposal. The paper focuses on the development of an Integrated MSWManagement for Dhaka, including responsibilities and operational procedures at themunicipal level, and involving the local community and private organizations inMSW collection, recycling, recovery. Simultaneously, safe disposal in protectedlandfill (to minimize ground water, soil and air pollution) should be given moreemphasis along with health program for informal workers and scavengers.