As industries grow in Bangladesh, the rapid escalation of various waste streams such as municipal solid waste, tannery, textile, pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and other solid waste has become evident. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of adequate disposal systems for handling these items.
Wastes are found scattered everywhere, polluting our environment and leading to various health ailments among people. Even, unconscious people hurl single use plastic or other waste here and there which clog in drains that makes water logging poses people suffer.
To conclude such environmental hazards, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Limited (LHBL) had taken a Geocyle initiative to dispose different kinds of wastes from industries in Bangladesh in 2017.
This Correspondent recently visited LafargeHolcim’s cement plant at Chhatak in Sunamganj and witnessed functioning of this ultra-modern waste management facility. After the unloading of numerous kind of waste from the trucks, the waste goes for segregation and shredding, he observed.
Speaking to The Business Post, Kaushik Mukherjee, Head of Geocycle Business for Bangladesh said, “Geocycle has been utilising the cement kiln of our Chhatak plant which is the only integrated cement plant in Bangladesh, to dispose of various types of hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated from the different leading oil and gas, pharmaceutical, agro product, food and consumer goods companies.”
At present, Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of urbanization in south Asia resulting in rapid growth of waste generation every year.
A recent study revealed that solid waste management is a grave concern for Bangladesh as by 2025 waste generation per capita will be 0.75 kg/capita/day and total amount of waste will reach 21.07 million tons per year.
For country like ours with such high waste generation rate, this is a big challenge and concern for the pertinent authorities and waste generators to dispose this in a sustainable manner. An average of approx. 55 per cent of solid waste remains uncollected in urban areas which is a serious threat to our health and environment.
In most cases, due to lack of stringent policies for waste disposal and subsequent monitoring by the authorities; waste is not segregated formally resulting in piling up of hazardous waste and creating immense pressure on landfills.
Zero-Waste Future
LHBL has established an advanced facility under its Geocycle project, designed to responsibly manage and dispose of a wide range of wastes in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The Company has successfully disposed of approx. 37,000 tonnes of different kinds of wastes like municipal solid waste, tannery, textile, pharmaceutical, FMCG and other solid waste in 2022. Geocycle has the capacity of disposing more than 100,000 tonnes of waste per annum.
Geocycle, the waste management project of Holcim Group headquartered in Switzerland, is the leading provider of industrial, agricultural, and municipal waste management services globally and currently operates in 50 countries with proven technology of “co-processing”.
The Geocycle manages more than 10 million tonnes of waste annually worldwide, thus making a significant contribution in bringing society a step closer to a zero-waste future.
The project started its journey in Bangladesh with renewed effort from 2017 and over the years revamped its capacity and facility with mentionable investment. This is one of a kind solution in the country with potential of becoming strong stepping stone towards sustainable waste management.
The company has installed Germany-made machineries ensuring minimum human involvement in waste handling. After shredding, the wastes enter into the cement kiln through a covered conveyor belt.
The LHBL is keen to play an active role in creating a zero waste future in Bangladesh through its Geocycle operations. Currently, this is the only sustainable waste management facility in Bangladesh approved by the Department of Environment (DoE).
Geocycle Bangladesh strictly implements the Holcim Group standards for co-processing of waste in alignment with international standards.
Since inception, it has managed a wide range of waste streams, including off-specific consumer products, contaminated packaging materials, expired chemically-treated seeds, contaminated soil, ETP sludge of textile and other industries, used oil, expired or off-specific medicine, and sorted municipal solid waste and plastics.
Geocycle team is working closely with Department of Environment (DoE) and has successfully disposed of hazardous waste for certain projects.
Geocycle Manager Md Latifur Rahman said, “Industrial waste has become a significant concern, prompting us to take proactive measures in waste collection and actively contribute to creating a waste-free future in the country. We have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sylhet City Corporation to facilitate waste acquisition from them as well.”
He added, “Our plant has the capability to process and dispose of 700-800 metric tons of waste daily. However, currently, we are handling approximately 150-200 metric tons per day. The waste materials are sourced from various industries located in Dhaka, Chattogram, Bagura, and Narayanganj. Our disposal process involves burning the waste at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1500 degrees during clinker production, ensuring there is no residual waste left behind.”
The urgency lies with policymakers to establish and enforce necessary policies and guidelines, placing special focus on municipal solid waste, textile, tannery, and paper waste management. By doing so, they can significantly contribute to achieving the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to circular economy principles and a waste-free environment in the years to come.
