A System Dynamics Approach of Decisive Policy Measures for Sustainable Municipal Solid Waste Management in Khulna City of Bangladesh

Abstract

AbstractA persisting municipal solid waste (MSW) management plan for any city in Bangladesh has to be focused on the understanding of dynamic interactions and ionized effect of all elements of the current MSW management system. Municipalities are the responsible authority for managing the generated MSW including the food and bio-degradable waste which is the major discarded constituent all over the country in terms of weight percentage. This study utilized system dynamics (SD) approach to not only understand the MSW management system of Khulna city with numerous interconnected and independent parameters but also investigated a number of policy scenario emphasized on the collection and separate industrial scale treatment for food and bio-degradable MSW of the city. The quantity of CH4 emission potential for a certain time period has been found to increase from 6.71 Gg in year 2020 to 51.969 Gg in 2050. Three different policy scenario has been implemented in the developed SD model to reach to the dynamic conclusion that “Policy 3” is the most effective on the criteria of the illustrated sustainable development goal (SDG 12.3) with a less fluctuating composite index value of 6.05 until year 2050. To achieve the 71% composting scenario illustrated in “Policy 3” there is no alternative to industrial or commercial composting for the near future. Finally, the illustrated results represents that this developed SD model can be used as an effective simulation platform for MSW management system’s evaluation as well as to determine the methods of achieving sustainable condition in the long run.KeywordsSystem dynamicsMSW managementIndustrial compostingPolicy scenarioSustainable development