The New Nation | 19 September 2020

World Cleanup Day is observed on the third Saturday of September every year in an effort to keep the country clean. This year it is being celebrated on 19 September 2020. It is an annual global social program and the main goal of celebrating this day is to make people aware of the need to dump garbage in certain places, to make people aware of the problems caused by garbage.
The population of Dhaka city is increasing day by day as many people coming in search of jobs, education and treatments. Along with population growth, the amount of waste is increasing and it is causing various kinds of environmental pollution. Currently, a visible problem in Dhaka city is waste management. Due to the rapid population growth in Dhaka, a huge amount of waste is constantly being generated, which is making the issue increasingly complex.
One of the sources of waste in the city is hotel and restaurant waste, industrial waste, medical waste, kitchen waste, perishable vegetables in the market, butcher’s blood, printing paint, etc. Among these wastes, hazardous wastes are medical wastes.Waste from various hospitals includes saline bags, syringes, blood, stool, urine, sputum, saliva etc., collection tubes, amputated parts of diseased organs of the human body; all these wastes are highly contagious and dangerous. These wastes carry deadly disease germs, including hepatitis and HIV. When a small amount of medical waste is not properly managed, it can mix with normal waste and make the whole waste contagious.
According to a World Bank study, Dhaka city produces about 6,000 metric tons of waste per day, of which about 1,000 metric tons is generated from medical and commercial establishments, of which 50-60 percent is dumped and the remaining 40 percent is illegally dumped next to houses. It is dumped in ditches, drains, roadsides, open spaces, canals, wetlands, rivers. Every day the city produces 560 grams of waste per capita. Produced waste includes plastics, paper, glass, metals and organic waste.
According to a survey conducted by the Department of Environmental Sciences, Stamford University, Bangladesh, the Dhaka Medical College Hospital alone generates 1.80 to 2 tons of medical waste per day, of which 75% is hazardous waste. Almost all those involved in the disposal of these wastes work without the use of any safety equipment such as gloves, gumboots, masks etc.
Due to the coronavirus situation, the amount of one time plastic waste used in Bangladesh has increased at an alarming rate. According to the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), between March 26 and April 25, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 14,500 tons of hazardous plastic waste has been generated in Dhaka. Most of these products are surgical masks, polythene hand gloves, surgical hand gloves, polythene bags and hand sanitizer bottles. If these wastes are not brought under proper management, there are more health risks alongside the corona pandemic. So there is no other way except proper waste management option to protect the environment and people.
There are two separate landfill sites for waste dumping in Dhaka city. Matuail landfill is being used for South City Corporation’s waste dumping and North City Corporation’s waste is being dumped in the Aminbazar landfill. Under these two city corporations, there are 8,500 cleaners who collect garbage from house to house every day including road cleaning and deposit it in the van at the secondary transfer station. The waste was later taken to the Aminbazar and the Matuail landfills in covered vans and open trucks. About 11,000 waste bins were set up on the sidewalks of the capital in the 2016-17 financial years by the two city corporations to collect waste lying on the roads and build a clean city. At present, almost all of these waste bins are almost extinct.
The unplanned accumulation of waste in landfills is causing various problems. An excessive infestation of mosquitoes, flies and insects can be seen in the vicinity of the landfill site along with the stench. Besides, air pollution and water pollution are increasing as a result of this mismanagement of waste. Especially in the rainy season, the condition of the wastes is direr. If the waste is not removed in time during the rainy season, the waste begins to decompose rapidly, resulting in a liquid, black, foul-smelling leachate. This leachate is contaminating groundwater by mixing with rainwater in river drains and groundwater through gaps in soil texture. As a result, water-borne diseases and various health risks are increasing.
COVID-19 showed us the results of not considering the environment. We should learn from the pandemic and correct us and stop polluting the environment and make a plan for sustainable development now. A clean and tidy city will not only be an initiative of the city corporation, but it also needs awareness. To ensure a safe, healthy and beautiful environment, the practice of dumping waste should be stopped. Proper use of waste can be ensured by converting this huge amount of waste for recycling. It is possible to produce biogas and electricity from waste. In particular, everyone should be aware that waste should not be dumped in rivers, canals and open water bodies. This will greatly reduce environmental pollution and health risks. We will get the clean safe city of our dreams.