Rajshahi: Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) is set to modernize its waste management system to ensure a clean, tidy, and odorless environment by mitigating the harmful effects of waste.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the RCC has developed a plan to enhance its waste management by focusing on modernizing the collection, transportation, removal, recycling, reuse, and disposal processes. This initiative is aimed at building an effective waste management system and facilitating the multidimensional use of waste.
To achieve these objectives, the city corporation is in the process of adopting a project entitled “Modernization of Waste Management in Rajshahi City,” aiming to ensure an odorless environment throughout the city. The proposed project site, covering around 104.33 acres at Baya-Duary, has been selected due to its remote location, away from residential areas. The project includes provisions for developing physical infrastructure, such as a hygienic landfill, waste plants, approach roads for recycling plants and treatment facilities, land development, boundary walls, a slaughterhouse, secondary transfer stations, and an incineration plant.
The city faces growing environmental challenges as waste production increases with rapid urbanization and population growth. The lack of effective waste management exacerbates these challenges, making the city less suitable for residence. Concerned officials report that the city currently produces approximately 440 tons of waste daily, a figure expected to rise to 750 tons and eventually 1,500 tons in the coming years.
RCC Chief Conservancy Officer Sheikh Mamun noted that the city collects 320 tons of waste from households, 24 tons from institutions, 79 tons from commercial and market areas, eight tons from roads, and nine tons from other sources daily. Waste is collected from homes and transferred to secondary stations before being transported to landfills by drum trucks until 11 pm. Around 1,377 conservancy workers are engaged in these activities.
Mamun highlighted that household waste is primarily organic and reusable, while waste from institutions and commercial areas is transferred to landfills during the day. Currently, 12.02 acres are used as a landfill, which is now full, creating a hill-like heap of waste. With no space left, waste is dumped into a pit beside the nearby bypass road, causing environmental pollution.
The lack of recycling facilities has accelerated the landfill’s rapid fill-up. There is an urgent need for a new, updated, and hygienic landfill to properly handle the increasing waste production, as no alternative dumping grounds exist. Effective collection and transportation of human fecal sludge under an upgraded management system are also necessary, with potential for producing biogas and fuel from collected sludge using modernized plants.
To address these issues, a modernized eco-friendly incineration plant is needed, alongside upgraded waste collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal systems. Locals have reported that some house owners dump human excreta directly into drains while cleaning septic tanks, and many septic systems are improperly connected, polluting the Barnai river.
Mamun stated that there is a plan to treat wastewater from the Dargapara and Kalpona primary drains before it reaches the river. The RCC is committed to improving waste management practices, including producing organic fertilizer and other usable products from sorted organic waste. Additionally, the potential exists for generating biogas and a small amount of electricity from waste management improvements.