Achilles� Heel of Dhaka
By Quamrul Haider
As if Dhakas traffic problem is not enough, Dhakaites must also cope with the staggering quantity of solid waste generated by an increasingly affluent society that habitually attempts to throw away their garbage in the most eco-unfriendly way. Garbage can be found everywhere in Dhaka by roads, on the roads; around parks, in the parks; by rivers, in the rivers; inside trash cans, outside trash cans.
With utter disregard for aesthetic values, residents of high-rise apartments in Dhaka fire projectiles containing a heterogeneous mixture of garbage, such as perishable and nonperishable kitchen trash, chemicals, sanitary products, medical waste, etc. into the streets below. When the accumulating piles get a bit lumpy underfoot, or become too offensive for the eyes and nose, they realisge, only to forget later, their lack of civic sense. Quite appropriately, after some time, the repugnant aroma of the decaying garbage wafts through the air into their home.
Garbage disposal in Dhaka is not a recent problem, though it certainly has been made more difficult by the sharp rise in population in the past few decades. Despite some progress in the handling of a few major waste categories, the overwhelming mass of household garbage is thrown into landfills at the outskirts of the city and left untreated. These unsightly and smelly midden heaps not only emit poisonous gases that are harmful to human health, but also provide a cozy home for the disease carrying vermin, mosquitoes and flies. These critters can cause malaria, bacterial and various infectious diseases.
Thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shall dig therewith and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee is the mantra of millions of slum dwellers in answering to the call of nature. They also do not hesitate to empty their bladders by the roadside.
Humans are not the only waste producers in Dhaka. Industries are not ifar behind. Of the many industries which add hazardous wastes to the load already present from domestic wastes, two stands out conspicuously. They are garment factories and tanneries.
At every step of the way, garment manufacturing involves toxic chemicals like formaldehyde, caustic soda, sulfuric acid, chlorinated solvents, highly fluorinated compounds (HFC) and dioxin-producing bleach, among others. The HFCs are environmentally obstinate and are associated with adverse neurological disorders while dioxin is an active ingredient of the carcinogenic Agent Orange that was indiscriminately used by the United States as part of the herbicidal warfare in Vietnam. The industry also uses endocrine disrupting chemicals that are frequently used as biocides. While individual chemicals may not endanger human health, the synergistic effect of multiple chemicals can have unpredictable negative effects on health.
The canals and wetlands of Savar, located near Dhaka and home to hundreds of garment factories, are now effectively retention ponds of untreated waste and effluents produced by these factories. Nearby rivers from which people draw water for cooking and bathing are so polluted with toxic materials that they run purple, blue and black. Furthermore, the pollutants are making agricultural land barren and useless. And local air is loaded with noxious fumes which, when inhaled, can cause nosebleeds and fainting spells.
Hazaribagh in the heart of Dhaka has more than one hundred tanneries within its perimeters. The area is polluted with all-pervasive stench of animal hides, garbage dumps, smoke and toxic chemicals such as chromium, manganese and sulfur, to name a few. Chromium is linked to causing lung cancer, liver failure, kidney damage and dementia.
Pollution created by tanneries is widespread. No place in the neighbourhood of Hazaribagh has been spared by its toxic wastes which can cause chronic respiratory problems, skin diseases and destruction of nasal septum. Zurich-based Green Cross Switzerland has listed Hazaribagh as one of the top 10 polluted places on Earth.
The tanneries discharge untreated liquid waste containing toxic chemicals into the nearby rivers and canals. These wastes eventually end up in the Buriganga River whose once pristine blue water now looks like turbid sewage water. The tannery owners are least concerned about the thousands of people who depend on the river for bathing, washing cloths and irrigation. Needless to say, the river has suffered irreversible biodiversity loss.
Hazardous waste has become the symbol of failed technologies and is the Achilles heel of modern society. Its disposal is of great concern to those interested in building a sustainable future. We seldom realise that the more waste we produce, the more minerals must be mined. The more paper we throw away, the more trees must be cut. The more plastic we discard, the more oil must be drilled. Each of these activities produces incredible waste itself and equally impressive amounts of environmental trauma.
People worldwide are beginning to recognise that a healthy, functioning community relies on a healthy environment. So, if you want to live in such an environment, first thing you should do is reduce, reuse and recycle, and dispose of the garbage in an eco-friendly way. Otherwise, youll continue to live in an unsustainable, malodorous, toxic environment.
The writer is Professor of Physics at Fordham University, New York.
Photo: Google Image
