Scratching a living from vegetable waste

When vegetables are unloaded from trucks and pickup vans in the capital’s wholesale and retail markets, some of those fall on the ground. These normally get spoilt and pollute the environment. But a large number of people, including women and children, have found a way to earn their livelihoods by collecting and selling these plant-based food items.

Nearly 2,000 people across Dhaka city collect, supply, and sell vegetable waste. They are contributing to keeping the environment pollution-free and are also playing a great role in reducing the country’s food waste.

A significant portion of vegetables is wasted in the country due to a lack of proper management in production, preservation, and marketing while a large part is wasted in wholesale and retail markets. This also has an adverse effect on the country’s nutrition status and contributes to the rise in food prices as well.

According to a survey by the horticulture department at Bangladesh Agricultural University under the Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge project, 17-32 per cent of vegetables and fruits gets wasted due to a lack of proper management.

Dr Md Kamrul Hassan, the principal investigator of the project and a horticulture professor at the university, said vegetable waste collectors are contributing to reducing the country’s food waste.

“But what they collect must be safe to eat. If we can reduce waste this way, it will be beneficial for the environment and also the economy,” he said.

Vegetable waste has a huge demand in hotels, restaurants, hostels, and bachelor accommodations as they are low-priced compared to fresh items sold in kitchen markets.

Mostafa Kamal, proprietor of Gauchhia Bhandar at Karwan Bazar, said the Karwan Bazar market provides livelihoods for around 1,000 people who only collect and sell vegetable waste.

This will contribute to economic development, he said.

Not only Karwan Bazar, vegetable waste is also collected and sold in Shyambazar and Jatrabari markets. Hanufa Begum, 35, who collects vegetable waste in Karwan Bazar said her husband had left her after marrying another woman.

“I started doing this work to provide food for my physically challenged boy and a baby girl. I can earn Tk 200-300 per day and thus support my three-member family.”

Apart from vegetable waste collection, some people are also involved in carrying vegetables from trucks to warehouses, cleaning vegetables, working as helpers at warehouses, and selling the plant-based food items on footpaths across the capital.

Ayesha Akter, who carries vegetables from trucks to a warehouse in Karwan Bazar, said she had been doing this for 35 years.

“I can earn Tk 300-400 per day. I married off my daughter with the money I earned from this work.”

People like Ayesha start collecting vegetable waste after 9pm and work throughout the night. When the sun rises, they start selling those. Some of them have regular clients. Momena Akter in Karwan Bazar said they generally sell to retailers in the market.

“But the retailers offer low prices. We now sell to restaurants and bachelor accommodations to get handsome prices.”

Some also sell these items door to door. Jahanra Akter in Tejgaon said she collects vegetable waste herself and also buys from other collectors.

“We want to sell those in the market but are offered low prices. But when we sell on footpaths, we get better prices. I also supply these items to several houses in my locality.”

Most of the vegetable waste collectors are widows, children, and older women. Some have places where they can sleep at night, but most of them have to sleep on footpaths. Some also work as maids.

Several collectors alleged they cannot collect vegetables properly as they are harassed by city corporation workers.

Kohinoor Akter in Karwan Bazar said they have to give money to city corporation workers to collect and sell vegetables.

“Otherwise, our vegetables are crushed by city corporation vehicles. During rainy days when we take shelter in the Karwan Bazar underpass, we face police harassment. Besides, we sometimes face sexual harassment.”

Sitwat Naeem, chief waste management officer of Dhaka South City Corporation, said vegetable waste collectors help reduce the workload of city corporation workers.

“That is why we support them. Our workers never harass them,” he said.

He also said vegetable waste collectors should coordinate with market management committees so they can work smoothly without facing any untoward situation.