Letters to the editor    

Creative solution for waste management!

Sir,
I believe that solid municipal waste, could be the freely available potential source of fuel for power generation and we should and must go for it and incorporate it for all the bigger towns and cities of Bangladesh where population is daily increasing! Some years back, this matter was taken up for Dhaka, but later abandoned. I would implore upon the present government to seriously take it up with the French government, even if the project costs in terms of taka per megawatt is higher. Apart from very little imported liquid fuel per MW of power we can use almost all of our solid municipal waste as fuel for power generation. Being a duel-fuel power plant, naturally the capital cost per MW of power will be higher. To begin with, we should go for utilizing municipal waste for power generation in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong. Subsequently we can go for similar projects in the cities of Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet.
Lest we forget, even if we use say 25 percent imported liquid fuel for the duel fuel steam boiler along with segregated municipal waste as the main fuel the overall fuel cost in terms of foreign exchange required per MW-hour of power generated will be far less. Importantly, it will solve the growing problem of disposal of this solid municipal waste that is growing day by day, and could reach unmanageable levels by say 2020. The sooner we take up this project, the better for us. otherwise the costs and problems related to handling and disposal of solid waste, particularly in urban areas, will become huge and create dangerous health hazards.
Further the cost involved in manual sorting of solid municipal waste (garbage) for firing the boilers of these power plants, seems high. but it is all in local funds and also creates employment for the many unskilled labours.
This writer, in our overall national interest implores upon the government to go for this avenue of power generation. This recycling of waste as fuel, in effect solves both the problem of municipal waste disposal as well as the growing unemployment problem. The government which has done quite well in solving the issue of our perennial shortage of power should take up this matter with the French government, as this method is well established and used for power generation in France: the pioneer in this matter. It is totally safe, and reduces the gradually growing mountains of solid city street and household waste that could become unmanageable by 2020s creating the hazard for Cholera and other dangerous infectious diseases. In this writer's sincere opinion; this is a matter of priority, and will cost much less than the potentially dangerous radiation hazard from the nuclear power plant that we are planning to go for. Lest we forget, diseases related to radiation hazard passes on to future generation too!

Engr. S. A. Mansoor, Dhaka.

 

Letters to the editor

Creative solution for waste management! Sir, I believe that solid municipal waste, could be the freely available potential source of fuel for power generation and we should and must go for it and incorporate it for all the bigger towns and cities of Bangladesh where population is daily increasing! Some years back, this matter was taken up for Dhaka, but later abandoned. I would implore upon the present government to seriously take it up with the French government, even if the project costs in terms of taka per megawatt is higher. Apart from very little imported liquid fuel per MW of power we can use almost all of our solid municipal waste as fuel for power generation. Being a duel-fuel power plant, naturally the capital cost per MW of power will be higher. To begin with, we should go for utilizing municipal waste for power generation in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong. Subsequently we can go for similar projects in the cities of Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet. Lest we forget, even if we use say 25 percent imported liquid fuel for the duel fuel steam boiler along with segregated municipal waste as the main fuel the overall fuel cost in terms of foreign exchange required per MW-hour of power generated will be far less. Importantly, it will solve the growing problem of disposal of this solid municipal waste that is growing day by day, and could reach unmanageable levels by say 2020. The sooner we take up this project, the better for us. otherwise the costs and problems related to handling and disposal of solid waste, particularly in urban areas, will become huge and create dangerous health hazards. Further the cost involved in manual sorting of solid municipal waste (garbage) for firing the boilers of these power plants, seems high. but it is all in local funds and also creates employment for the many unskilled labours. This writer, in our overall national interest implores upon the government to go for this avenue of power generation. This recycling of waste as fuel, in effect solves both the problem of municipal waste disposal as well as the growing unemployment problem. The government which has done quite well in solving the issue of our perennial shortage of power should take up this matter with the French government, as this method is well established and used for power generation in France: the pioneer in this matter. It is totally safe, and reduces the gradually growing mountains of solid city street and household waste that could become unmanageable by 2020s creating the hazard for Cholera and other dangerous infectious diseases. In this writers sincere opinion; this is a matter of priority, and will cost much less than the potentially dangerous radiation hazard from the nuclear power plant that we are planning to go for. Lest we forget, diseases related to radiation hazard passes on to future generation too! Engr. S. A. Mansoor, Dhaka.