City's solid waste worry

One-third of the solid wastes generated in the capital do not end up in the two DCC-designated garbage-dumping grounds. The photo shows an urchin at the garbage dump near Amin Bazar on the outskirts of the capital. Photo: SK Enamul Haq

More than one third of the uncollected solid waste in the city is dumped into different water bodies, open spaces, low-lying areas and drains every day causing environmental pollution.
It happens due to lack of proper logistics, negligence of sweepers and drivers involved in waste management in carrying out their duties, said sources at the Dhaka City Corporation.
Consequently a huge quantity of solid waste is not dumped into the officially designated dumping grounds, the sources added.
A total of 3,656 tonnes of solid waste is generated every day; of which 2,208 tonnes are collected and dumped into the two dumping grounds of DCC - one at Matuail and the other at Aminbazar, said Tariq Bin Yousuf, project director of DCC Landfill Improvement Project.
The remaining 1,448 tonnes are dumped into drains, rivers, canals, other water bodies, open spaces and low-lying areas, said another official.
Sweepers, in many cases, dump household waste into the rivers. It helps them save time and avoid going a long distance.
Sometimes they work as a tool of land grabbers. Sweepers, on their (grabbers) request, dump the waste exactly into the place where the grabbers set their target, source at the DCC said.
Rampant dumping of solid waste into the rivers, canals and other water bodies is not only polluting them but also reducing their navigability.
SM Mahbubur Rahman, principal specialist and head of Water Resources Planning Division of Institute of Water Modelling said the indiscriminate dumping of solid waste into manholes and surface drains is going on as DCC cannot provide proper facilities to its residents.
He said wholesale kitchen markets on the bank of the rivers also dump huge amounts of solid waste into the water bodies, which is also polluting and filling them up.
Sources said around 8000 sweepers work for DCC. 10 percent of them work in different departments of DCC while about 30 percent don't at all work but draw their salaries.
At least 30 drivers are involved in trade unionism. They also draw their salaries at the end of the month without doing anything, they said.
Truck and container-carrier drivers who carry garbage to the dumping grounds perform one-third or two-thirds of their duties.
The authorities are helpless, as the unions of both sweepers and drivers are very powerful, sources said.
DCC presently has around 100 container carriers and 140 open trucks, which are not sufficient to carry huge amount of solid waste generated every day, said PD Tariq.
He said 100 vehicles including 35 compactors, 20 arm-roll carriers and 45 containers will be bought in a year with the Japan Environment and Climate Change Fund.
Twenty-seven more container carriers, purchased under the Sanitary Landfill Project, will start functioning within a few days, he said, adding that these will help the waste collection significantly.
Chief Waste Management Officer of DCC Maksudur Rahman Chowdhury said it is not true that 20 to 30 percent sweepers don't work. The number is around five percent as sometimes they go on leave for sickness and other reasons.
About keeping containers on the city roads Maksud said during urbanisation no one cared for the transfer stations and that is why DCC has to keep them at the roadside.
DCC needs at least 100 compactors but 100 container carriers and 140 open trucks now do the garbage carrying instead, he said.
He said the waste of Shyampur and DND areas do not go to the Matuail Landfill but this is dumped into different water bodies including rivers.
Maksud said the wholesale kitchen markets on the bank of rivers also dump their waste into the river in a bid to expand their possession on the riverbank.
He said they had already instructed their workers not to dump any waste into water bodies.
At least four road-sweeping vehicles are needed for cleaning roads initially as it gets difficult for their sweepers to clean the main roads because they become crowded even in the morning, he added.