Landfills become prime hotspots of pollution, health hazard: Experts

Landfills have become the unavoidable source of environmental pollution and the cause of health risks, said environmentalists and experts calling for a move of public-private-community to manage waste.                                                                          

Participants at a webinar expressed their concern over the source of pollution from waste landfills. They said that the approach to solid waste management in Bangladesh has been top-down, technocratic and disconnected from the end-users. 

Experts pointed out that Bangladesh needs a zero-waste movement, based on public-private-community partnerships to manage its waste. They stated that adaptation of the zero-waste principle is essential for sustainable waste management.

The call was made as part of a high-level policy dialogue on "Zero Waste Communities for Sustainable Waste Management" organised by the Environment and Social Development Organization – ESDO virtually on Sunday, said a media release on Monday. 

According to ESDO presentation, In Bangladesh, inadequate collection and uncontrolled dumping or burning of solid waste are still an unfortunate reality, affecting public health and polluting the environment. 

Waste Atlas states that only 37 per cent of Bangladesh’s huge volume of waste (about 22.4 mil tons/year) is collected by the municipalities, most of which pile up in landfills or unregulated dumpsites. 

These practices have led to critical challenges such as water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, blockage in drains causing floods, food contamination, malodor in public places, and missed economic opportunities from recycling.

Md Moniruzzaman, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change attended the event as special guest. 

He said: “In the Solid Waste Management Rule 2021, waste segregation and reuse has been emphasised. We hope that with the spontaneous participation of the community, we will be able to have a sustainable waste management system.” 

Syed Marghub Murshed, Former Secretary of Bangladesh and Chairperson of ESDO said that several success stories of community participation across developed and developing countries have strengthened the view that city corporations cannot work in isolation and require active participation of all the stakeholders to manage waste.

Shibu K Nair, Coordinator, GAIA India, said: “Municipal solid waste management is becoming exceedingly challenging in Asian cities, but when we look at the nature of waste, we see that a large percentage—typically more than 50 per cent is organic. 

“The significant proportion of organic waste represents an excellent opportunity for waste management. If organic waste is correctly separated and managed separately, more than half of the problem is solved. That implies we will indeed have achieved half of the journey to Zero Waste.”

Brig Gen Md. Zobaidur Rahman, Chief Health Officer, Dhaka North City Corporation stated that Waste disposal sites that are poorly maintained act as breeding grounds for disease vectors and contribute to global climate change by emitting methane gas. 

To control this situation City Corporation along with community people needs to come forward and work together, he added. 

ESDO’s Secretary General Dr. Shahriar Hossain said that a zero-waste strategy needs to ensure everyone has access to tools to reduce, reuse and recycle waste where they live, work and play. 

Zero waste approach will build a circular economy, where “waste” is a resource for something new. This will also create good, green jobs as resources are endlessly recirculated through our economy instead of being used once and then disposed or destroyed, he added.

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