Municipal Solid Waste Management in Sylhet City, Bangladesh

M. Alamgir, I. M. Rafizul, S. M. T Islam and M.H Hasan (Eds.) ISBN: 978-984-34-2306-1

Proceedings of the WasteSafe 2017 – 5th International Conference on Solid Waste Management in South Asian Countries 25-27 February 2017, Khulna, Bangladesh

Municipal Solid Waste Management in Sylhet City, Bangladesh Md. Ashraful Islam 1, Md. Shameem Hossain 2, Md. Ashraful islam 1 , Md. Tanzilul Islam1 and Salma A. Iqbal 1 1

Department of Chemical Engineering & Polymer Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology,Sylhet,Bangladesh;[email protected],[email protected], [email protected] 2 Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology; [email protected]

ABSTRACT Bangladesh is the ninth most populous country and twelfth most densely populated countries in the world. In particular, the projected urban population growth rate from 2010 - 2015 is 3%. With this population growth, there is an increasing problem of waste management particularly in the larger cities. The total waste collection rate in major cities of Bangladesh is near only 35%. These trends pose a challenge to cities, which are charged with managing waste in a socially and environmentally acceptable manner. Now a day’s solid waste management has become one of the major alarming issues in municipalities like Sylhet. This study is about municipal solid waste management in SCC. During this whole process data were taken from various points by dividing SCC in different zones. It also showed the negative impacts of poor waste management. Finally it was suggested some proper & economic guidelines for waste management. Keywords: Municipal Waste, Waste Management, Negative Impacts of Waste Generation,Energy Recovery, Recommendation for Waste Management.

INTRODUCTION

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Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is nothing but useful material at wrong place increasing at a very high rate in the urban areas of Bangladesh, one of the densely populated Least Developed Asian Countries (LDACs) P.K. Halder, et al., found that due to rapid urbanization and population growth. These increasing rates of MSW create an adverse effect on environment as well as social and professional life of city residents, urban planners, developers and other concerned stakeholders. The primary sources of MSW are residential, institutional and commercial waste, and municipal services wastes (street sweeping). Waste disposal and management system is very poor in urban areas of the country and only major cities have some garbage disposal system Considering the demand of huge increasing population, rapid and mushrooming growth of markets restaurants and private clinics/hospitals is established in the recent years in Sylhet city and most of private clinics are housed in renovated residential building and do not have the facilities for adequate waste management systems. The main goal of this study is to carry out a comprehensive baseline assessment of solid waste management scenario in the urban areas of Sylhet City Corporation. The objectives are: Estimation of the total quantity of urban waste generated in Bangladesh Waste Collection methodology Types of waste produced in Sylhet City Corporation Analysis of physical composition of wastes In Sylhet City Corporation Negative Impacts of improper management of municipal solid waste Recommendation for Waste Management


METHODOLOGIES Every major waste dumping area in Sylhet were identified and divided into major zones. These major zones and waste transporting as well as handling systems were inspected personally to measure the quantity of wastes roughly. Data of wastes were collected through proper administrative processing. Data for this study were collected from a variety of sources to present a description of the phenomenon or the experience from the perspectives of the respondents. Instruments used included a questionnaire guide, an interview guide and a field observation guide. These data were classified into categories like organic and non-organic wastes. All data were converted into daily basis. The main reason for dumping recyclable wastes was searched by brainstorming investigation. Proper economic and environment friendly ways for wastages were searched and noted with proper investigation. In every steps of this process it was tried to make sure that data with maximum accuracy is collected, though it was unable to measure large amount of waste measured with percent accuracy.

SYLHET CITY CORPORATION (SCC) The local institution is running from the period of British government. Sylhet municipal board established in 1867. At 9th April 2001 the municipal corporation improved as City Corporation. Sylhet , is a major city in north-eastern Bangladesh. It is the capital of Sylhet Division and Sylhet District, and was granted metropolitan city status in March 2009. Sylhet, the north-eastern divisional city of Bangladesh, is located at 24º53′N latitude and 91º52′E longitude stands on the banks of river Surma. The city has a high population density, with nearly 500,000 people (sylhetcitycorporationbd) Following figure describes more clearly about the location of Sylhet City Corporation.

Figure 1: Location of Sylhet City Corporation

DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS Table 1 Basic information of six city corporations of Bangladesh in [ Ahsan,A.et al., 2014] City City Population Number Wastes Total waste Ultimate corporation area (million) of generation generation disposal (sq. km) Wards rate(kg/cap/day) (tons/day) site Dhaka 360 11.00 90 0.40–0.55 5000–550 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 0.35–0.45 200–250 1


WASTE GENERATION TRENDS IN SYLHET CITY CORPORATION

Figure 2: Waste Generation Increasing with time [Ifterkhar Enayetullah et. Al.,2005]

TYPES OF WASTE GENERATED IN SYLHET CITY CORPORATION Table 2 Total amount of waste generation per day Clinical Waste Hotel/Resturant Waste Residential/Kitchen Waste

5 - 6 tons/day 65 - 94 tons/day 130 - 150 tons/day

Total

200 - 250 tons/day

PLASTIC WASTE IN SYLHET CITY CORPORATION Among the above total amount of wastes PET bottles: 12-18 tons/day Soft Plastics: 18-24 tons/day

Figure 3: % Composition of City Corporation waste It has been seen from the investigation & above mentioned data that SCC generating about 200 – 250 ton MSW / day among which 67% are orgnanic wastes.


ENERGY GENERATION OPPORTUNITY Untreated municipal solid waste is being viewed as a valuable commodity to meet the energy requirements of the up coming generations. Shashank Mathur et. al., showed with the anticipated global shortage of the non renewable resources and the increasing demand for the renewable resources solid wastes are ripe for exploitation. WTE applications are being implemented world wide and extracting energy from the waste.Approximately 130 million tonnes of municipal solid waste are being treated annually in more than 600 waste to are operating which are fuelled by 27 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually energy (WTE) facilities around the world to produce electricity to produce heated steam for district heating . Table 3 provides a range of electricity produced (expressed on a kWhr per tonne basis) observed in operating facilities using a range of technologies. Energy output from the WTE facilities is generally a consistent source of power because of the regular and consistent supply of waste feedstock. Table 3 Reported Electricity Production Ranges for various WTE Technologies [Shashank Mathur et. al.,] Technology

Electricity Production Range (kWhr/tonne)

Conventional - Older

500 – 600

Conventional - Newer

750 – 850

Gasification

400 – 800

Plasma Arc Gasification

300 – 600

Pyrolysis

500 – 800

For the organic fraction of municipal solid waste in an anaerobic digestion system biogas yields of 803 200 m per tonne Mes, T.Z.D et. al.,2003 and this is the most environmentalally friendly technology that produce energy as well as fertilizer for the plant and less carbon emission also.

EXISTINING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The people of Sylhet city corporation produce 200-250 ton waste/day. Solid wastes are generated from 27 wards of different sources such as residential, medical, industrial, construction and demolition, agricultural, institutional and municipal.Unfortunately, at present Sylhet City Corporation have no appropriate landfill or waste disposal site. Open dumping and dumping of solid wastes to unengineered landfill sites is being practiced in Sylhet City Corporation. Unhygienic open dump site in the vicinity of Sylhet city corporation is shown in figure 4. Other types of dangerous wastes like chemical and hospital wastes are also not disposed of properly.

Figure 4 : Lalmatia Dumping station in the vicinity of Sylhet City There are 21 secondary collection points and a final stage dumping site at ‘Lalmatia’ covering a space of about 7 acre and 200 - 250 metric tonne/day wastes are collected and disposed-off in the


designated waste disposal area.The waste spreads all over the disposal site that produces unpleasant odor and air pollution due to improper dumping . For management of solid wastes in SCC area, 223 waste management manpower, 43 trucks/trucktors, 1 Vaccum tanker, 4 water tanker, 150 vans are used to collect wastes from different point of the city. Current solid waste management system in SCC is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 : Existing Municipal solid waste management system in Sylhet City Corporation

NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THIS MANAGEMENT Many negative impacts due to improper solid waste management can be seen in Sylhet City Corporation. It can be observed from figure 5 that the collected solid waste is being transported in an open body tractor.During the investigation, it was concluded that improper solid waste management systems in SCC are creating the following negative impacts:  Dispersed solid waste on the road side often blocks the drains, sewers & roads. Ultimately these blockages are creating flooding and unhygienic conditions in the city.  Flies breeding are directly linked with open solid waste dumps. During the filed investigation it was observed that during summer the flies are increasing their population so rapidly due to these waste dumps and they are very effectual vectors that spread disease in the community.  Associated to the above problems, blocked drains and wastewater flooding in the city due to blocked drains are greatly supporting the mosquitoes breed and they are spreading the malaria and dengue in the Sylhet City.  Proportion of food waste in open dumps and waste drains are providing an attractive shelter for rats. These rats are spreading disease, damaging electrical cables and other materials in the study area.  Uncollected solid wastes from few locations in the city are degrading the urban environment and discouraging efforts to keep streets and open spaces clean.


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Due to a lack of health and safety facilities to the waste collection crew in Sylhet city, they are specifically facing occupational hazards, including strains from lifting, injuries from sharp objects and traffic accidents. Open dumps on the roadside and heavily sized solid waste storage containers are also creating traffic blockage in the study area. The city government is not providing separate waste collection facilities. As a result, a lot of dangerous items (such as broken glass,razor blades, hypodermic needles and other healthcare wastes, aerosol cans and potentially explosive containers and chemicals from industries) may cause risks of injury or poisoning, particularly to scavengers and school going children. Open body trucks are being used for the collection of solid wastes in Sylhet city without covers. This practice is totally unhygienic. During rainy seasons, produced leachate from the open dumped sites is causing serious pollution to water bodies in SSC. Co-disposal of industrial hazardous wastes with municipal wastes can expose people to chemical and radioactive hazards. These hazardous conditions especially by medical wastes [Nisar, H. et. Al.,]

RECOMMENDATION FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT  Technology has made to manage waste in a simple way. There is several proven technology such as Incineration, Pyrolysis/Gasification, Anaerobic digestion and landfill Gas Recovery to manage waste properly.Bangladesh is a densely populated country and its has small land area. For the development of Bangladesh , for the well being of Bangladeshi people and to save our environemnt , it has now become mandatory to use the proper technology for the management of waste as well to recovery energy. Ultimately , these technology will help our energy sector and will create the job for the people also. The following is our proposed schematic waste management diagram for the huge volume of waste generated in SCC per day.

Reduce Reuse Recover

Fertilizer

Recyclable materials

Unavoidable MSW

Biological Treatment Energy Recovery

Biodegradable Materials

Separate Collection

Recyclable materials

Export or Local Reprocessing

Non- biodegradable & Non-recyclable materials

Thermal

Residues

Landfilling

Figure 6 : Proposed waste Management Diagram for Sylhet City Corporaion In addition to the above proposed system , the following condideration sholud be imposed properly so that the total waste management system can run in its smooth way.


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The present design of community bins is not satisfactory as it is open and without cover or lid. It is recommended that all bins should have covered lid and have concrete bottom to prevent leachate leakage. Another type of portable community bin or container, which can be lifted directly on the vehicle, could be used. In order to reduce the health hazard among the garbage crew it is recommended that they should be provided with proper protective clothing, gloves, boots etc. when loading and unloading wastes which are generally partially decomposed. For efficient management of solid waste activities vehicles maintenance and cleaners should be under one division for better co-ordination and control. Promotion to increase Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle of wastes should be initiated as well as Public participation should be increased in SCC areas. Penal action for illegal disposal of garbage on roads, drains unauthorized places. Data management and information availability should be easier for general people.

CONCLUSION As civilization is advancing we are producing more wastage especially in municipal areas. This is most alarming issue for safety, health and environment. Every possible step should be taken and every possible decision needs to be made to ensure proper management of wastages. This study is a small step to minimizing risks for human caused by poor wastage management in areas like Sylhet City. Further research can be directed at identifying and describing the economic feasibility of the proposed MSW managemnt system.Taking initiative from every level of people should be considered as a major step in this sector.

REFERENCES [1] Ahsan,A., Alamgir,M., El-Sergany,M. M., Shams, S., Rowshon, M. D., and Nik Daud, N. N. 2014. Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management System in a Developing Country, Hindawi Publishing Corporation Chinese Journal of Engineering, Article ID 561935 [2] http://www.sylhetcitycorporationbd.org/index.php/cms/home/ [3] Halder, P.K., Paul, N., Hoque, M. E., Hoque, A. S. M., Parvez, M. S , Hafizur Rahman, Md., Ali, M. 2014. Municipal Solid Waste and its Management in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh: A Source of Energy, International Journal of Renewable Energy Research, N. Paul et al. ,Vol.4, No.1 [4] Ifterkhar Enayetullah, Maqsood Sinha, A.H. Md., Syda Shaila Akter khan. 2005. Urban Solid Waste Management Scenario of Bangladesh, [5] Nisar, H., Ejaz,N., Akhtar,N., and Ali Naeem, U., Environmental impacts of improper solid waste management in developing countries: a case study of Rawalpindi City, University of Engineering & Technology, Taxila, Pakistan [6] Mes, T.Z.D. de, Stams, A.J.M., Reith J.H and Zeeman. G.2003.Bio-methane & Bio-hydrogen: status and perspectives of biological methane and hydrogen production Petten : Dutch Biological Hydrogen Foundation - ISBN 9090171657, pp. 58 - 102. [7] Shashank Mathur, Vishal Upadhyaya, Prakhar Kumar, Sulekha Saxena. Energy From Municipal Solid Waste, International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology Vol. No. 2, Issue 1, pp. 319-321