All kinds of pollutions including air and water pollutions continued in the capital over the years as the authorities concerned failed to take strong actions to manage solid wastes of the city even after taking different initiatives.
Haphazard dumping of wastes on busy roads lay at the root of ‘inferior environment’ the capital has become recognised for. Besides becoming a major source of public nuisance, scattered garbage often leads to drain clogging, water pollution and breeding of mosquitoes, thereby posing health hazards to the commuters.
It causes odour which is difficult for commuters to tolerate and they have to go pressing their nose with fingers. If they are stuck in as usual traffic jam beside garbage, they are sure to inhale odour pollution so long as the so-called jam stay.  One day a woman was found vomiting due to inhaling stench in the capital’s green road area.
Solid wastes are dumped even in water bodies and other open spaces in the face of the authority’s inability.
Urban planners say that roughly 40 per cent of the wastes dumped in a haphazard manner include medical waste, electrical and electronic waste, construction waste and kitchen waste, etc.
Garbage is also not categorised in Dhaka city, a fast growing metropolis where rapid growth of industries, lack of financial resources, inadequate trained manpower, inappropriate technology and lack of awareness of the community are the major constraints of solid waste management.
Waste management does not mean dumping of waste, which exactly what the government agencies are doing. The process itself is nothing but transfer of pollution.
Though there were initiatives by Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Government, including 3R Strategy undertaken in 2010, little did change over the years. The principle of reducing, reusing and recycling of resources and products, often called the 3Rs, is yet to translate into reality.
Both city corporations have taken initiatives in collaboration with international donor agencies and the Local Government Division to process solid waste using modern methods.
The steps include urban public and environmental health development projects, community-based waste management activities, development of sanitary landfill, medical waste recycling plant and waste-based power plant.
Dhaka ranked as the fourth least liveable city among 140 cities in last year’s Global Liveability Ranking.
Flouting rules and orders
The city corporations’ solid waste management rules stipulate that the local bodies must collect waste from every house regularly.
The rules also call for waste collection from slums, squatter areas, hotels, restaurants, office complexes and commercial zones.
Environmental waste should be managed scientifically.
However, the permanent and temporary staff and sweepers employed by the DNCC and DSCC are reportedly not doing their jobs properly.
Dhaka residents say the authorities are yet to fix the garbage management and drainage system.
A Waste Concern study found that nearly 4,500 tons of household wastes are produced daily in Dhaka but DNCC and DSCC officials claimed the amount was 500 tons less.
Citizens themselves often do not follow the rules set by the authorities. They often dump garbage on roadsides ignoring waste bins and designated spots for garbage disposal.
Roadside mini bins go in vain
The DNCC and DSCC installed around 6,000 waste bins across the city in 2016.
But the project failed within a year due to a lack of awareness of the commuters. People throw garbage on roads and footpaths instead of using the bins, many of which were also stolen.
Waste bins and secondary waste transfer stations were set up and the number of vehicles and cleaners were increased over the years but the improvement was rather slow.
The wastes dumped openly often run into houses and business centres even after a light shower while they also often block the drainage system.
STS project incomplete
DNCC and DSCC officials claim that they struggle with waste management as a project to build secondary transfer stations (STS) in every ward is yet to be completed because of a faulty Rajuk plan.
The World Bank-funded project started in 2013 to improve waste management. It was scheduled to end by December 2015.
But it was delayed and remained incomplete due to lack of free space, and protests by influential people who illegally occupied the lands allotted for STSs.
No steps to tackle dust
When it comes to dust pollution, the DNCC and DSCC apparently have no strict measures that can be taken against those dumping construction materials on roads and footpaths.
Uncontrolled open construction and tearing down of old buildings without safety protection and cover along with random road digging for repair works are also responsible for dust pollution.
Open garbage trucks
The city corporation authorities claimed to have instructed the cleaners and drivers to cover the waste when carrying them by garbage trucks from the STSs to the landfills. But their directives are not followed properly.
Waste-based power plants still a dream
Two waste-based power station projects initiated by DNCC and DSCC never took off due to fund crunch.
Shortly after winning the bid to build both plants, Italy-based Management Environment Finance SRL Ltd failed to provide the funds. As per the deal, construction should have begun within 130 days of the agreement.
DNCC’s 3R waste management failed
We have come to know from sources that a Tk21cr project, financed by Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, also failed to achieve its goal due to lack of awareness and poor waste management system.
The Department of Environment had reportedly undertaken the project in 2012, which prescribed the 3R method – reduce, reuse, recycle.
Inadequate waste treatment plant
Landfills at Aminbazar and Matuail are reportedly producing a large amount of leachate and have been polluting the environment of their nearby areas.
Leachate is the liquid that drains or leaches from a landfill and is very harmful for arable lands, water resources and aquatic lives.
I think that DNCC and DSCC should take necessary measures to overcome the problematic situation by increasing garbage trucks and engaging more and more cleaners and supervisors. The supervisors will oversee the situation by roaster.
Incineration is another solution to waste disposal in Developing Countries. It should be located away from the settlement, on the opposite side from the direction of the prevailing wind.
Incineration systems should be built on an impervious base of concrete or hardened earth. Ash and any unburned refuse should be buried and covered with 40 centimeters of soil.
High-tech incinerators, in place of open burning, are engineered to prevent toxic emissions and make use of the excess heat to generate steam for power production or for residential heating. Like sanitary landfill, this solution is not commonly used in Development Countries.

The writer is a journalist and teacher