Waste Management Models (WMM) and Their Application to Sustainable Waste Management in a Mega City...

M. Alamgir, K.A.B.M. Mohiuddin, S.M.T. Islam, and M.H. Hasan (Eds.) ISBN: 978-984-33-8695-3, PI.20 (1-10)

Proceedings of the Waste Safe 2015–4thInternational Conference on

Solid Waste Management in the Developing Countries 15-17February 2015, Khulna, Bangladesh

Waste Management Models (WMM) and Their Application to Sustainable Waste

Management in a Mega City like Dhaka

S. Hossain1, A. T. Sarkar2, S. A. A. Rafie3 and S. H. Rahat 4 1Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), House # 496, Road # 32, New DOHS, Mohakhali,

Dhaka-1206 2,3Dept. of Civil Engineering, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh

4Dept. Of WRE, BUET, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract Dhaka metro city life functions as a throw-away society. The price for that is a growing problem of how to handle all the waste that is generated. Precious space for it is decreasing. Households in Dhaka Metro are creating and throwing away more waste than ever. From junk mail to excess paint to food scraps, this garbage takes time and money to deal with. Fortunately, there's a lot you can do to reduce your waste at home. Besides, nobody likes taking out the trash. The solution is not just reducing, reusing, recycling and composting, but also a complete re-education of how we live. The recycling bin is the symbol of the low-waste approach, but it hasn't caught on in this mega metro city to make a noticeable difference. Resource recovery saves energy, causes minimal pollution and land disruption, cuts waste disposal costs, and extends the life of landfills by preventing waste from residing there. Greatly increased recycling in this mega city could be reached through several measures. Some measures to achieve this include enacting a national bottle bill into law, banning disposable plastic items (Polythenes), requiring labels on products made with recyclable materials and the percentages used, using education and advertisements to discourage the "throw away" mentality, requiring households to separate wastes for recycling (or offering financial incentives for doing so).Other hand the technology for safely and effectively treating and disposing hazardous waste has not even come close to the technology for producing the stuff. This study examines the antecedents of recycling and composting intentions in the context of an integrated waste management behavior model. This model incorporates a wide variety of important factors from previous research on environmental behavior. The theory of planned behavior provides a theoretical framework to integrate these factors. Overall, the results suggest that this model fits the data well, helping to explain intentions to engage in recycling and composting.

Introduction

The increasing amount of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with increasing populations in developing countries has become a potential threat to the environment, to society, and to economic losses like Dhaka mega city (DCC 2013). Prior to other developing countries, most of the MSW in Bangladesh is dumped in landfill sites without any treatment. This open dumping system has caused serious negative environmental impacts including groundwater and river water contamination by leachate from dumping sites, a human health threat from vector-borne disease, and methane gas generation that contributes to global warming (Christia and Thomas, 2010).Moreover, in areas with poor waste management services due to low capacity and limited resources, MSW is dumped along the road side and into rivers, which causes water contamination as well as soil pollution. The necessity of using a multi-objective framework to consider the MSW management problem arises from the difficulty of finding simple trade-offs between economic and environmental objectives. A realistic model (WMM) of the decision process has to take into account the interactive features that generally characterize the process. This interaction takes place whenever the decision maker has to evaluate a certain solution and then express her/his preference trade-offs.Megacities face tremendous environmental challenges and threats for human health. In this framework the role of waste management is becoming more and more crucial both for the daily life as well as for the long to medium term sustainability of megacities.The challenge of a successful waste management in megacities is one of the most

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demanding for human societies and especially for the waste management industry. To respond to such a challenge it is important, first of all, to have a better understanding of megacities and emphasize at their particularities that really affect waste management by using WMM.

Problem Statement Megacities can be categorized in three different categories: Emerging, Transitional and Mature cities, depending on their stage of economic and social development.Emerging megacities tend to be characterized by high growth rates driven by migration and natural growth, much of which occurs in informal settlements not served by the installed base of infrastructure and services. Transitional Megacities have often developed mechanisms to more effectively manage dynamic growth, and may be seeing a slowing of annual growth rates. Transitional cities have similar infrastructure challenges as compared with Emerging cities but are better able to respond financially and organizationally. Mature Megacities have much slower growth rates than both Emerging and Transitional megacities, at around 1% on average. In some of these cities, the population has stagnated or is shrinking. Mature megacities also have older population profiles. They exist in countries that are typically around 75% urban.

Mature megacities often face the problem of maintaining their infrastructure and adapting it to their changes. On the other hand in emerging and transitional megacities the main challenge is usually the delivery of infrastructure which is always much slower than the city’s growth. As a consequence the challenges for waste management in mature megacities are completely different than in emerging and transitional megacities.Below, the analysis concerns mainly the emerging and transitional megacities like Dhaka City and their characteristics that affect waste management. Dynamics and growth

Three issues are very important for waste management: population growth, economic activities and spatial growth.Megacities have phenomenal growth rates.Every day thousands of people move to each of the megacities from the surrounding rural areas of the country. This tremendous influx often undermines Local Government’s best efforts to provide adequate services to the inhabitants of the cities.Emerging and transitional megacities often represent the most dynamic economic growth of their countries. It has been estimated that the urban areas of the developing world, which contained some 30 percent of the total population, contributed to nearly 60 percent of the total GDP at the turn of the century. Dhaka provides roughly 60% of Bangladesh GDP, Mexico City 40%, Buenos Aires 45% etc. It is mentioned that the most rapid growth of urban centres is taking place in the economically weakest countries and regions. A high birthrate combined with an increasing migration from the rural areas that is reinforced by the so called “push-factors” (unemployment, low standards of housing and infrastructure, lack of educational facilities) and “pull-factors” (economical opportunities, attractive jobs, better education, modern lifestyle) leads to this very dynamic growth process which affect the proper solid waste management of this city.( Médecins sans Frontiéres 1994)

Figure 1: Waterbodies covered by solid waste throwing by local people at canal of Dhaka city


Several megacities appear to have reached their physical and managerial limits and others will do so sooner or later like Dhaka.As a consequence of the character of megacities spatial growth, the land required for waste management activities e.g. transfer stations, recycling centers, waste treatment or disposal facilities is always too difficult to be found and acquired in time, thus creating an additional barrier to infrastructure delivery as well as this Dhaka megacity. Illegal Dumping, Rag Picking and Recovery and Recycling of Generated Wastes

A common scenario in the open dump site was obnoxious odor at the surrounding environs and in waterbodies. About various illegal dumping and throwing sites were found at the time field survey (Figure 1 & 2). The dumping sites were not very big in size but these were seen around the open places and beside the side of the roads. Throwing of wastes close to the canal of ward boundary waterbody was observed and the throwing is a common solution for street wastes which was deteriorating the air quality and initiating many respiratory diseases. Poverty and slums

A particular feature of megacities is the symbiosis of two extremes in the same shell. On the one hand there are highly sophisticated parts, modern industries and technologies, five star hotels, financial and commercial institutions, research centres, etc. On the other hand there is an expanding poverty, huge socio-economic differences, dangerous living conditions and a dynamic informal sector. These informal areas make up some 30 to 50% of the population.It must be noted that those two parts are not clearly separated but most of the times they are combined economically, socially and even spatially: there are a lot of glamorous neighborhoods in megacities that are in direct contact or at a very small distance with slums and informal areas.

What municipal solid waste systems can't do?

Why has recycling not kept up with the increase in product waste? Why are such large quantities of both product and non-product waste (especially food scraps)

still ending up in landfills and incinerators? The answers to these questions lie in an inherent limitation of current systems for handling product wastes. For these wastes, the EPA's "Integrated Waste Management" strategy is largely beyond the control of the MSWM system. The system cannot reduce wastes at the source and it cannot require products to be designed for recycling or safe disposal.Waste prevention lies entirely outside the boundaries of the MSWM system. And outside the boundaries of the system, reducing waste at the source brings little benefit. In 1999 EPA identified a number of challenges facing waste recovery efforts, including the lack of market demand for collected materials and product design that makes

Figure 2: Sunshed roof of buildings window covered by solid waste throwing by flat people


materials difficult to recycle (US EPA 1999, p. 125 ff). There is no incentive to buy recycled material, whereas waste managers must continue to offer these materials for sale, even when oversupply drives prices down. Governance and institutional problems of DCC Metropolitan governance has become increasingly complex as cities have morphed into agglomerations combining multiple administrative organizations and jurisdictions. This has led to calls for a complete reassessment of urban governance but still there is considerable debate about the best practices and the solutions required for the unique circumstances and needs of each city.The incredibly rapid growth of megacities causes severe ecological, economical and social problems which must be handled under the condition that almost over 70% of the growth currently happens outside of any formal planning process. (Ramachandra, T. V. and Saira, V. K. 2003)

For many megacities like Dhaka, inadequate representative governance inhibits spatial planning, building control, the delivery of services (such as water supply, sewage disposal, energy distribution and waste management), and the establishment of general order (including security and disaster prevention).As a result, due to the significant dynamics of megacities, urban planning and public infrastructure provision tends to be reactive rather than a guide to development.OECD identified three main obstacles to effective governance which are:

An extensive fragmentation of administrative jurisdiction;

Strain of the financial and fiscal abilities of local municipalities in metropolitan areas; and

Lack of transparent, accountable, decision-making processes.

Financial issues are a great challenge for emerging and transitional megacities. Solid waste management represents 3 – 15% of the cities’ budget and 80-90% of it is spent for waste collection, although coverage rates remain relatively poor. Any effort for improvement will substantially increase the costs for waste management and probably new tariff systems will also be required. (Klundert, A. and Anschutz, J. 1999) Objectives of the Study Putting all this countless problems into consideration, this paper is aimed at identifying the best options for solid waste management in Dhaka city.Acquisition of data of remotely sensed images and topographical map sheet covering study area; as well as ground control points using ground survey method.Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) of the acquired data with the view of obtaining the most suitable site for solid waste disposal in study area of Dhaka.

Reduce wastes at the source (e.g. by backyard composting, product reuse) Recover wastes (e.g. by recycling, municipal composting) Dispose everything else in an environmentally sound way with WMM.

Figure 3: Existing solid waste collection process in Mohammadpur area Dhaka


Study area The study area of Mansurabad Housing area of Mohammadpur was located in Dhaka district of

Bangladesh. It was consisting of around 20000 house hold units in its 0.65 km².The study area was

covered with two wards in Dhaka City of 90 wards.The main desired aims and overall objectives of

this study were to explore the current SWM practice including waste generation, location of waste

bins, type, size and frequency of solid waste removal from the bins and to propose requirements and

relocating of bins by using Waste Management Model (WMM) considering the current practice for

better SWM.

Figure 4: Study area of Mohammadpur in Dhaka Mega City


Table 1 Some sample point location for waste collection of study area

Total Generated Wastes of the Study Area

From the DCC statement, it was found that the wastes of the study area were composed of 69% food wastes, 10% paper, 6% wood and dust, 2% plastic contents, 5% sand and dust and 8% other wastes. In recent study, the estimated domestic waste generation was found about 1950 t/d withconsidering street waste was about 200 t/d in Dhaka city. The generation rate was about 0.34/kg/d/person but considering domestic, business and street section the waste was up to 0.50 kg/d/person.

Table 2 Rate of waste generation and waste collection of study area, Mohammadpur

Year Population Solid Waste Generation (Tons/Day)

Solid Wste Collection (Tons/Day)

2012 1500000 520 312

2011 1461000 510 306

2010 1422000 500 300

2009 1385028 490 294

2008 1348056 480 288

2007 1313007 470 282

2006 1277957 460 276

2005 1244730 450 270

Source: (ROY, 2013)

Figure 5: Current waste management flow diagram of Dhaka City (Source: DCC, 2007)


Solid Waste Dumping Sites of study area

The estimates for solid waste production for Dhaka city was varied from 3,500 to 4,500 metric tons per day on very rough per capita basis, which has been taken to be between 0.45 and 0.50 kg. Taking the mid-figure of 4000 tons per day at present, and with a 5 percent growth rate of population, the city is apprehended to have a proportionate increase in solid waste generation. By 2015, more than 6,000 tons of Solid Waste will be generated in Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area (DCC, 2013) The solid wastes collected from the wards of the study area were mainly disposed down to the Mohammadpur Beri bundh and Amin Bazaar landfill sites. A portion of the waste disposed approximately 65% to the Amin Bazaar site and about 35% (app.) at the Beri bund waste dumping site. As the Amin Bazaar landfill was managed by DCC, the overall management system at that landfill site was quite good. One bulldozer and one wheel dozer were working in the Beri bund dumping site but no other facilities were installed. This site was also filled without soil covering. It was informed that the site was private land and owners requested to DCC to fill by solid waste. In the dry season there was no leachate discharge. As the site was located outside the flood protection band, the site may be flooded in rainy season. Also, it was noted that there are several place filled and/or dumped by solid waste along the flood protection band. A necessity to stop illegal dumping along this important facility was observed during field survey. (DCC, 2013)

Capacity of Existing Waste Bins and Containers

The collection capacity is about 85% literally but in real condition many of the waste containers were shared by other adjacent wards. With considering this sharing of waste bins and containers, trimmed down of 25% waste collection capacity due to other wards contribution to the adjacent bins and containers. About 116250 kg (64%) wastes were collected by the DCC from the study area. (DCC 2013)

Existing Sold Waste management by DCC North of study area (DCC 2013)

DCC sweeps roads & drains daily. Accumulate wastes from roadside. Cleaners collect & transfer to the nearest dustbin/container. DCC’s truck dump to the dumping depots. Dressing by bulldozers, tire dozers, pay loaders & excavators.

Methodology Primary data about the solid waste collection system of the study area were collected through Global Positioning System (GPS) survey.The exact location of the solid waste bins, containers and illegal waste disposal sites were collected by using GPS device (Explorist 200). Preparation of thematic maps includes the digitization of collected secondary data.Spatial data were generated using collected GPS data with using Google Earth Images. ( M Alamgir, QS Hossain, QH Bari, IM Rafizul, KMM Hasan, G Sarkar & MK Howlader (Eds.) 2009). An amount of secondary data about SWM associating other relevant information, like demographic, economic data, were collected from various Non-Government and Government organizations (NGOs & GOs).The information of different types and forms has converted into the GIS database. GIS software (ArcGIS 9.2) with its network analyst extension was used to recommend waste bins, containers location and for the preparation of final maps for an appropriate WMM for this area. (Ogra, A. 2003 and Mwakalinga, V. 2005)

WMM Processes

Nine major steps of WMM proces for social the practice. It takes one year to complete all the steps. The steps are as follows:


Step 1: Work permission/agreement with public agency

Before implementation of the project in a new community, a formal Partnership Agreement is signed between the public agency (DCC or PWD) and Waste Concern. The agreement clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of all partners.

Step 2: Base line survey

After the agreement is signed, Waste Concern conducts a baseline survey. It collects data about the socio-economic conditions of the community, and the situation of sanitation and waste management. Moreover, information is gathered about problems faced by the residents in disposing waste and their willingness to participate in and contribute to a waste management improvement programme.

Step 3: Community mobilization and formation community of groups

After completion of the base line survey, Waste Concern organizes meetings in the community. If the community shows interest and confirms its willingness to participate in the programme, a Waste Concern representative clarifies the responsibilities and roles of the local community. If the community agrees with the terms, the community is selected for the intervention and community groups called “Green Force” are formed. Responsibilities of the “Green Force” include acting as a project watchdog, monitoring the work of waste collectors and composting activities, overseeing the monthly fee collection, and awareness rising on proper waste management in the community.

Step 4: Capacity building

After successful mobilization of the community and the formation of community groups, Waste Concern provides hands-on training to selected members of the community group on waste separation, collection, composting and marketing of recyclable material and compost. When selecting trainees from the communities for the operation of the composting plant, special emphasis is given to the participation of poor women in the community. Step 5: Setup of the composting plant A simple, low-cost shed is built for the sorting, composting and maturing units of the plant, along with drainage, water supply and electricity facilities. Step 6: House-to-house waste collection The community groups trained by Waste Concern collect all the waste (both organic and inorganic) from the households. Organic waste is composted within the community-based composting plants, while plant workers sell the inorganic waste of value to the junk dealers. Inorganic waste, which cannot be recycled, is taken by the DCC truck for disposal at the landfill site.Source separation of waste into dry, wet and toxic waste is promoted in this phase with the help of a community awareness programme. Waste Concern developed posters, leaflets and T-shirts and organized workshop and informal meetings, etc. to promote source separation. Step 7: Composting process Composting requires 40 days for decomposition and another 10-15 days for maturing. After maturing, the compost is screened for different grades and packed for marketing. At present, 500-600 kg of compost is produced every day by processing two-three tons of solid waste. Step 8: Marketing of the compost Unlike in many other countries, a good market for compost exists in Bangladesh. Waste Concern assists communities to sell their compost to outlets such as fertilizer marketing companies and nurseries at prices ranging from Tk. 2.5 to Tk. 5.0 per kg ($ 5-10 cents). The quality of the compost is monitored in the laboratory of Soil Resources Development Institute of the Government of Bangladesh as well as in Waste Concern’s own laboratory. Compost produced by Waste Concern has good NPK value. Step 9: Handing over the plant to the community


After establishment of the plant and one year of training and demonstration, Waste Concern hands over the plant to community groups or to the public agency owning the land. However, Waste Concern continues to monitor the project for the next three to four years.When Waste Concern transfer the plant to community ownership, the organization responsible for the use of the land and the operation of the compost plant becomes the Green Force.

Conclusion About 64% of generated solid wastes have been collected by DCC North with the existing bins and containers. The existing bin and container relocations were suggested considering the existing number of bins and containers and another suggestion were made with 80% collection efficiency. Based on the present study, it was conducted that about 55% of recyclable wastes were collected by local ragpickers. In addition, this study also depicted that about five hundred people were directly involved with the rag picking and about 14 small illegal dumping site were found around the Mohammadpur Mansurabad Housing Area. A number of proposed bin and container with their locations and their optimized routes considering present illegal disposal sites were tried to delineate using WMM technique with its associated tools to achieve 80% waste collection efficiency. About 25 waste bins and 30 waste containers would be sufficient to achieve the 80% collection efficiency with reducing existing illegal disposal sites.

Recommendations For an integrated approach, strategic WMM planning should be taken by the waste management authorities of DCC North. Communal bins should be designed according to the waste generation and characteristics. The modified communal bins can help to minimize waste dumping as well saves collection and disposal cost. Lack of Management Information System (MIS) contributes to a complicated process of setting for proper waste storage, suitable routes assignment for trucks, etc (Mwakalinga, 2005).Segregation of wastes at primary and secondary level at waste collection should be conducted at the study area. So, a Community Management Information System should be built considering waste generation, collection and transportation (schedule, numbers of truck, etc) like:

Reducing waste at home. Reduce excess paper at home. Reduce packaging waste. Eliminate mercury from your home. Prevent food waste and compost organics. Use the least hazardous cleaning products. Make a non-toxic home cleaning kit. Find new life for old furnishings, appliances and clothes.

People’s participation and technology should be incorporated for efficient WMM. GIS technique could be an efficient tools for constructing MIS, such technologies will be helpful for not only minimizing wastes but also to utilize the wastes in different ways. 3R (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) campaign should be supported at all levels of the waste management and Clean development mechanism (CDM) should be incorporated in WMM for waste minimization and proper utilization in Dhaka City.

Acknowledgement At first I am thankful to Almighty Allah. Then I want to thank the Wastesafe 2015 organizing committee. I am really grateful to Md Anisur Rahman, conservancy zone officer of North Dhaka City Corporation (DCC North) for providing us the data about present landfill condition of Mohammadpur area and I also want to show my gratitude to my research assistants who helped me all along with their valuable inputs at different times of the study.

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Urban Solid Waste Management Using GIS Technique: A Case Study on Mohammadpur Thana at Dhaka of Bangladesh ISBN: 978-984-33-0761-3, Vol. 1, pp.239-248

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