Involvement of Household, Government and NGOs in Solid Waste Management in Khulna City: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This study has analyzed the generation, characteristics and especially disposal system of solid waste in Khulna city, as urbanization and economic progress increases consumption of resources also tend to increase of waste at the same rate. This leads to immense negative impact on environment in the sense of generation of waste by the urban. Improper management of solid waste is one of the main causes of environmental pollution and degradation in many cities. Developing cities like Khulna, the third largest metropolitan city in Bangladesh, have now begun to acknowledge the environmental and public health risks associated with uncontrolled dumping of metropolitan solid waste (MSW). To these attempts, a survey was conducted to observe the present scenario of total MSW management system in Khulna city. Result reveals that near about 9-11% of total generated wastes are collected by door-to-door collection system provided by mainly non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) using 46 non-motorized rickshaw vans. Moreover, the major portion of collected wastes is disposed to the nearest secondary disposal site (SDS) by these organizations and then transferred to ultimate disposal site (UDS) or to private low-lying lands from there by the city authority. A small portion of organic wastes is going to the composting plants of NGOs. In this survey it is seen that major identified problems of existing management of MSW by NGOs and CBOs are the irregular collection of solid waste, nonpayment of service charges by the beneficiaries, involvement of child labor, reluctance of city dwellers participation etc. Finally the paper suggests that some measures and steps should be taken to keep the city nice and healthy.