Decentralised composting in Bangladesh, a win-win situation for all stakeholders

Abstract

The paper describes experiences of Waste Concern, a research based Non-Governmental Organisation, with a community-based decentralised composting project in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The composting scheme started its activities in 1995 with the aim of developing a low-cost technique for composting of municipal solid waste, which is well-suited to Dhaka's waste stream, climate, and socio-economic conditions along with the development of public–private–community partnerships in solid waste management and creation of job opportunities for the urban poor. Organic waste is converted into compost using the “Indonesian Windrow Technique”, a non-mechanised aerobic and thermophile composting procedure. In an assessment study conducted in 2001, key information on the Mirpur composting scheme was collected. This includes a description of the technical and operational aspects of the composting scheme (site-layout, process steps, mass flows, monitoring of physical and chemical parameters), the evaluation of financial parameters, and the description of the compost marketing strategy. The case study shows a rare successful decentralised collection and composting scheme in a large city of the developing world. Essential for acceptance by consumers was that the composting scheme was able to get formal approval from the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council on the use of the compost product for agricultural purposes as well as policy support by the Ministry of Agriculture. Financial success of the scheme is based on the fact that large bulk buyers of compost were found. The compost product is mainly sold to fertiliser producing companies which blend the compost with additives/nutrients to suit different customers. Sales of the products are then done through existing agricultural extension services and retail networks of these companies. Thus the compost marketing strategy of the composting schemes is based on letting others do the individual marketing of the compost. The case of Mirpur shows that composting can be a good alternative to conventional solid waste management options, reducing the amount of waste to be transported and dumped and producing a valuable raw material for fertilisers.