3 categories of waste compost plants proposed

Taking 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) as the focal centre of waste management Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha (Rajuk) has proposed to install 11 compost and recycle plants along with area-based waste plants and barrel-type compost units.   

The 3Rs mean reducing waste, reusing and recycling resources and products. Rajuk included the proposal in the Detailed Area Plan (DAP 2022-2035).

In the plan, the planners have estimated that the jurisdictive area under DAP will have a population of 22million.

According to the Clean Dhaka Master Plan, a person is estimated to create 0.56Kg waste a day. So with the population in 2025 the city will create some 11010 tonnes of waste per day. In general 70 per cent of it will be bio-waste that can be reused further.

So, the quantity of bio-waste will stand at 700 tonnes per day.

Taking the estimation under consideration, Rajuk has proposed to set up 11 compost and recycle plants with the capacity of 700 tonnes of waste.

But as the amount of waste is increasing day by day it has also proposed to introduce a barrel-type compost system in the city areas.

Compost plants

According to the plan, of the 11 plants one will be located in the capital, two in Savar, three in Narayanganj and five in Gazipur.

The Amin Bazar dumping station and Matuail plants will be considered central compost plants while the rest sub-plants. Each plant will require 10 acres of land while Amin Bazar dumping station and Matuail are estimated to have 45 and 87 acres of land.

A plant with 700 tonnes of waste per day can be able to create 160-185 tonnes of organic fertilizer in a day.

DAP also mentioned that an environment-friendly and recyclable plant is possible by using area-based compost plants. It can also be helpful for ensuring best use of bio-waste.

A non-government organization ‘Waste Concern’ proposed to develop the waste compost model that can be installed in any area of the city.

According to DAP, the three-tonne capacity plant can compost bio-waste collected from 1,430 residential units while a large plant having 11 tonnes of capacity can compost bio-waste collected from 5,243 residential units.

Rajuk to introduce barrel-type compost units

The DAP proposed to integrate individual and local authorities in area-based organic waste management to install barrel-type compost units in city homes and urban areas under its jurisdiction.

It proposed to provide one green barrel for every 5-6 residential units.

According to the DAP, bio-waste and non-bio-waste should be separated at home and the local government authorities will deploy staff to transfer non-bio- waste to Secondary Transfer Station (STS).

It said a barrel organic fertilizer could be sold for Tk843 to Tk927 and the capital to install the unit could be recovered within 23 months.

It will decrease pressure on central waste plants and keeps the environment safer, said DAP Project Director, also Rajuk’s Town Planner, Md Ahsraful Islam.

“The project has been a success in Jessore and now we want to implement it in Dhaka as well. It will be beneficial for the environment and also financially profitable for the citizens who will adopt it,” he added.

Concern about pollution

Asked about the matter, Environmentalist Syeda Rizwana Hasan, also the Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) said 11 waste compost and recycle plants are enough for the city people for now.

“But we have to see where the plants will be established.” Rajuk claimed to plan an environment-friendly DAP but they are yet to publish the assessment data they used for the plan.

They should publish it so that experts can scrutinize their plan. Turning Amin Bazar dumping centre into a compost plant would have an adverse impact on the environment, especially as it can pollute river water.    

DAP mentioned that dumping station would be far away from residential area, educational institutions, hospitals, reservoir, open spaces where children play and also should be close to main roads

Rajuk’s Town Planner Ahsraful Islam said he was also concerned over the issue and that is why for long three years he hadn’t given permission for the dumping station. But there is no other place to be used and so the permission was given to Dhaka North City Corporation to use the place, he said.

But it has been instructed to make sure that waste is not mixed with surrounding water and it will not pollute the environment, he added.