Iranian Journal of Environmental Health, Science and Engineering Iranian Association of Environmental Health (IAEH) ISSN: 1735-1979 Vol. 4, Num. 2, 2007, pp. 67-76

Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering,Vol.
4, No. 2, 2007, pp. 67-76
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND RECOVERY POTENTIAL:
BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE
 *1M. Alamgir, 2A. Ahsan
 1Department of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 920300, Bangladesh

  2Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Fukui, 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui 910-8507, Japan
*Corresponding author-Email: alamgir@ce.kuet.ac.bd
Tel: +880 41 769468, Fax: +880 41 774780
 Received 16 January 2007; revised 29 February 2007; accepted 28 March 2007
Code Number: se07011
ABSTRACT
 A total of 7690 tons of municipal solid waste generated daily
  at the six major cities of Bangladesh, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi,
  Barisal and Sylhet, as estimated in 2005. Sampling was
  done at different waste generation sources such as residential, commercial,
  institutional and open areas, i
  different seasons. The composition of the entire waste stream was about 74.4%
  organic matter, 9.1%
  paper, 3.5% plastic, 1.9% textile and wood, 0.8% leather and rubber, 1.5% metal,
  0.8% glass and 8%
  other waste. The per capita generation of municipal solid waste was ranged
  from 0.325 to 0.485
  kg/cap/day while the average rate was 0.387 kg/cap/day as measured in the six
  major cities. The potential
  for waste recovery and reduction based on the waste characteristics are evaluated
  and it is predicted that
  21.64 million US$/yr can be earned from recycling and composting of municipal
solid waste.
Key words: Municipal solid waste, generation, composition, characterization,
    recovery potential,
  reduction
INTRODUCTION 
Rapid urbanization and population growth 
  are largely responsible for very high increasing 
  rate of MSW generation in the urban areas of Bangladesh, one of the densely populated 
  Least Developed Asian Countries (LDACs). These scenario posses a social, environmental 
  and professional threat for city dwellers, urban 
  planners, development authorities and other 
  concerned stakeholders. In Bangladesh, a major portion 
  of population does not have access to waste 
  collection services and only an insignificant fraction of 
  the generated wastes are actually collected by 
  door-to-door collection system introduced by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) 
  and community based organizations (CBOs) in late 
  90's against tiny payment. Moreover, due to lack 
  of motivation, awareness, commitment, expertise as well as money a considerable portion of 
  wastes, 40-60%, are not properly stored, collected 
  or disposed in the designated places for ultimate disposal (Ahsan et al., 2005). As a result, the unmanageable increasing quantity of 
MSW creates enormous environmental problems. A feasibility study on the various aspects 
of integrated management and safe disposal of MSW in LDACs can be found in Alamgir 
  et al., (2005). 
The MSW industry has four 
  components: recycling, composting, land filling and waste 
  to energy (WTE) via incineration (Tchobanoglous  et al., 1993). Information on the 
  characteristics of MSW is an essen­tial part for the selection 
  of most appropriate system for storage and 
  transport, evaluating equipment needs, determination of 
  the potential for resource recovery, choice of a 
  suitable method for disposal, sustainable 
  management programs and proper planning. 
  Characterization is also important to determine its 
  possible environmental impacts on nature as well as 
  on society. The per capita waste generation and percent composition of various waste 
  components are the two most important types of data 
  for decision makers. This information is necessary 
  in order to identify waste components to target 
  for source reduction and recycling programs, and to allow technical professionals to design any 
waste facility such as material recovery facilities 
(MRF), WTE projects, sanitary landfills, 
composting facilities, etc.
This paper aims to evaluate the per 
  capita generation, total daily generation, percent composition and the potential for waste recovery and reduction in Bangladesh. To meet this 
demand, sampling was done in different waste 
generation sources such as residential, 
commercial, institutional and open areas at six major 
cities, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, 
Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet as shown in Fig.
1 in the 
map of Bangladesh.
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
In conducting a study at local conditions, a 
  variety of waste characterization methods can be 
  used, reported in USEPA (1996). A simple method is sampling for the characterization of MSW. 
  Two approaches or sampling points are generally 
  being used, one is sampling directly from waste generation sources, which is applied for this 
  study and another is sampling from trucks at the disposal 
sites. Sampling was designed to be 
three-way stratified for this study because of seasonal 
and geographical variation can have an impact on waste characteristics. The first level 
is stratification by geographical regions i.e. by 
city, while the second is stratification by waste generation sources such as residential, 
commercial, institutional and open areas (as street 
sweeping). The third is seasonal stratification. Bangladesh has three main seasons: summer, monsoon and 
winter. Sampling was designed to take place during 
these seasons and for simplicity the year is 
sub-divided into the three seasons. Data were collected 
from 21 May to 30 June 2004 of season 1, from 1 
July to 29 August 2004 of season 2 and from 3 November 2004 to 5 January 2005 of season 3. 
A total of three hundred and twenty samples were collected during the year of 2004 and 2005 
from each city of Bangladesh.
Sample weight 
Klee (1980) indicated that the smaller the 
  sample weight the greater the variance of the 
  waste sample composition. He stated that as the 
  sample weight is decreased from approximately 91 
  kg, the sample variance is increased rapidly, but 
  above that for the weight of approximately 140 kg, 
  the variance decreased much more slowly. He thus recommended a sample weight between 91 
  and 140 kg. In Bangladesh, about 80% waste components passing through the 100 mm 
  sieve opening (Ahsan, 2005). Because the size of 
  the waste components in the study areas is 
  relatively smaller than the developed countries, it is 
  expected that the smaller amount could adequately 
  represent the characteristics of MSW. Considering 
  this reality of the study areas, the target sample 
  weight for this research was set at 100 kg.
Field protocol 
The preliminary survey was conducted to find 
  out 5 representative wards in each city so that 
  the different waste generation sources such as residential, commercial and institutional 
  areas were exist in each ward. Then 5 different 
  income level households were selected in residential 
  areas depending on different socio-economic status 
  and number of household members. A total of 25 households waste generation rates 
  were investigated in each city by supplying 2 
  different colour bins in each household. One bin for 
  rapidly biodegradable waste and another for slowly biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste. A 
  list of waste separation was pasted on outer 
  surface of each bin and also requested to store the 
  waste separately. Householders accumulate the 
  aside materials also that they would normally give 
  away or sell to itinerant buyers of recyclables, or recycle shops. The daily average generation rate in 
each household with per capita generation was evaluated. Then estimate the total amount of 
MSW generation from residential areas by knowing 
total population in each city. The commercial establishments were categorized as wet 
market, shopping complex, hotel, restaurant and 
others. Five wet markets and five shopping 
complexes were selected in each city and the daily 
average generation per shop/stall for wet market 
and shopping complex were evaluated individually. 
The waste generation rates for hotels and 
restaurants were also surveyed. Total numbers of wet 
markets and shopping complexes with number of 
shops/stalls, hotels and restaurants within the city 
areas were collected from city corporation 
authorities and trade license section. Then estimate 
the amount of MSW generation from commercial establishments in each city.
In institutional areas, five educational 
  institutions (college/school) and five health care 
  centers (hospital/clinic) were selected in each city. 
  The daily average waste generation per student 
  (for educational institutions) and per bed (for 
  health care centers) were evaluated. Then the 
  total amount of MSW generated in institutional 
  areas by knowing the total numbers of educational institutions with students and health care 
  centers with beds within the city areas were 
  estimated. The waste generation per 100 m of road 
  length for sweeping was determined by selecting 
  five-paved roads (1 km each) in each city. All 
  paved roads were not swept daily. Only certain 
  important paved roads were swept daily, many others 
  were swept on alternate days or twice in a week, 
  and some were swept occasionally or not at all. 
  Total length of daily sweeping paved road (average) 
  was collected from the respective city authority 
  and then estimate the total generation for 
  sweepings in each city. Finally the total MSW generation 
  from residential, commercial, institutional areas and 
  for street sweepings was determined for each city. Table 1 shows the solid waste sampling 
  sources and frequency in each city. 
Laboratory protocol  
The weight of collected waste samples 
  were measured in laboratory and then transported to the designated shed for sorting. 
Twenty-two targeted sorting categories were selected for 
the collected samples. The composition was then categorized into eight major categories: 
organic matter, paper, plastic, textile and wood, leather 
and rubber, metal, glass and other (After AIT, 
1991) as shown in Table 2. Portions of the waste were placed on a sorting table and sorted manually, 
then placed into the identified containers. An 
estimation of wetness of the sample was made and 
each container was weighed after the completion of sorting. Standard personnel safety procedures 
were followed during the sorting process such as 
wearing gloves, apron, safety glasses and boots, etc.
RESULTS 
MSW generation  
Table 3 shows
  the income level based per capita generation at residential areas in six major
  cities of Bangladesh. The average highest
  generation rate was found to be 0.368 kg/capita/day 
  at residential areas in Dhaka whereas the lowest 
  was 0.259 kg/capita/day in Barisal. The mean generation rate in residential
  areas as obtained as 0.309 kg/capita/day for six cities of different income
  level with different living standard. 
As shown in Table 4, a total of 7690 t of 
  waste generated daily in the six major cities of Bangladesh, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, 
  Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet as estimated in 
  the year of 2005. The Dhaka city contributed the 
  major portion (69%) to the total waste stream, 
  which amounted as 5340 t. The Dhaka and Chittagong 
city contributed approximately 87% (6655 t) 
of the waste stream. The overall socio-economic condition of the country is also very 
much responsible for the very high percentage of 
organic matter. The generation rate was ranged from 
0.325 to 0.485 kg/cap/day, while highest generation 
rate was 0.485 kg/cap/day in Dhaka city, lowest generation rate was 0.325 kg/cap/day in Barisal city and the weighted average was 0.387 
kg/capita/day for six major cities. Table 5 presents 
the contribution of different sources in total 
generation of MSW, where nearly 78% of generated 
waste came from the residential sector, 20% came 
from the commercial sector, 1% from the 
institutional sector and rest from other sectors.
MSW composition 
The waste composition for the entire waste 
  stream of six major cities in the year of 2005 is shown 
  in Table 6. The percentage composition of waste combined from all locations was about 
  74.4% organic matter, 9.1% paper, 3.5% plastic, 
  1.9% textile and wood, 0.8% leather and rubber, 
  1.5% metal, 0.8% glass and 8% other waste. The biodegradable fraction (organic matter) is normally 
very high as compared to other 
fractions, essentially due to the use of fresh vegetables 
and foods, which is common in each city. There is 
a little variation in percent composition for 
different cities. Organic matter ranges from 68 to 81% 
for the six cities, while paper and plastic are about 
7 to 11% and 3 to 4%, respectively. Glass, leather and rubber were the smallest composition for 
all locations. 
Comparison between seasons 
Table 7 presents a summary of the annual 
  mean weight fractions, which sorted into the eight 
  waste categories for each of the three seasons. 
  Season 1 to be related to summer, hot weather and 
  fruits season (when jackfruit, mangoes and other summer fruits are available) also the 
  organic fraction is relatively high than winter 
  season. Season 2 is the monsoon season and the end 
  of the fruit season, when heavy rains were occurred. 
All waste components are in wet state hence 
the bulk density is increased. The last season is 
winter designated here as season 3 could be related 
to special winter events, holiday activities and 
good weather. One might expect that seasonally 
sorted mean weight fractions would vary; however, 
the influence of seasonal variation on MSW composition is insignificant, as some 
factors influence the increase of wastes generation, 
while the other factors tend to reduce. 
Comparison with other studies 
Composition: Several studies have 
  been conducted in Dhaka city to determine the composition of generated MSW. A comparison 
  of the present study with other studies is 
  presented in Table 8. There was no reporting about 
  number of samples taken, the selection criteria, 
  sampling design and data analysis method, etc. in 
  previous studies. Since MSW from different sources is 
typically dumped into the same 
  container/truck, the waste obviously gets mixed. The 
  waste components analyzed in each study were 
  different and regrouped to match the components. 
  Organic matters were varied over a wide margin 
  ranging from about 62 to 88% during the period of 
  1993-2003 in Dhaka city, whereas paper and plastic 
  vary from about 1 to 10% and 1 to 7%, respectively, 
  as reported in the previous studies.
Per capita waste 
  generation: 
In order to determine per capita generation 
  from an estimated of total generation of waste, 
  one would require a good estimation of the 
  population. Conversely, if reasonable estimations (present 
  and future) of per capita generation are available, 
  one could estimate present and future generation 
  of wastes from reliable estimation of present and future population. However, there appears to 
  be considerable differences among researchers on the estimation of city population. Reported 
  per capita waste generation was varied over a high range from 0.26 to 0.83 kg/capita/day during 
  the period of 1990-2004 for Dhaka city as 
  presented in Table 9. There is a wide variation in 
  the estimation of waste generation as well as 
  of population in all previous studies. Based on 
  the 1981 and 1991 census data, BCSIR (1998) calculated a compound growth rate of 2.8% 
  for Dhaka city and estimated a population of 4.64 million for the year of 1998. With an 
  estimated daily generation of 2398 tons, this gives a per 
  capita generation of 0.52 kg/day. In addition, the per 
  capita generation reported in 1990 (by DIFPP-Dhaka Integrated Flood Protection Project) and 1997 
  (by PASL-Pan Asia Services Ltd.) is very high than recent studies due to the inclusion of industrial 
  and constructional waste streams with MSW. 
DCC (1999), on the other hand, reported 
  a population of 7 million for Dhaka city, which is almost 1.5 times higher than that of the 
  estimated value of BCSIR (1998). However, DCC 
  estimated the waste generation is 3500 ton/day where 
  per capita generation rate is 0.50 kg/day, which is 
  very close to the value reported by the BCSIR 
  (1998). However in the year of 2000, JICA reported 
  a population of 9.5 million for Dhaka city and per capita generation is 0.50 kg/day, which is 
  very close to the present study. Assuming an 
  annual GAP (gross area product) of 4% and assuming that 70% of the additional income would go 
  into consumption, a waste generation growth factor of 2.8% (= 0.70 × 4) was estimated by 
  BCSIR (1998). Based on this growth rate, waste generation rate was estimated as 0.52 
  kg/capita/day in the year of 1998.
Potential for recovery and reduction 
Hereafter, the potential for waste recovery and reduction
  is discussed from the view of market value. Table 10 presents the market values
  for recoverable materials in the waste stream of Bangladesh. Recycling is the
  reprocessing
  of wastes, either into the same material (closed 
  loop recycling) or a different material (open loop recycling). Another form
  of recycling is composting. Controlled biological decomposition process of
  organic waste into humus, a
  soil-like material is known as composting. The prices 
  were obtained from national associated recycler, 
compost producer and retailer of Bangladesh. 
The total weight of recyclable and 
  compostable materials was 2,488,185 t (6817 t/d) in the six 
  major cities of Bangladesh in 2005. The average 
  recovery rate is 70%, experienced of national 
  associated recycler. Then the recovered materials are 
  4772 t/d (= 6817 × 70%) and the revenue is 213,097 
  $/d or 77,780,430 $/yr as shown in Table 10. The cost of recycling is the sum of the capital 
  and operating cost (O&M) of the material 
  recovery centre (MRF). Although detailed costs vary 
  by community, the configuration of the MRF and 
  many other factors, one can make preliminary 
  estimation from the general average cost data. The 
  typical unit capital cost for a low-tech MRF is 
  $10,000 per ton of daily capacity (Tchobanoglous 
  and Kreith, 2002). The waste generated from the 
  six major cities of Bangladesh is 7690 t/d 
  (2,806,850 t/yr) as shown in Table 4. Thus, the capital 
  cost for an MRF is approximately $76,900,000 (= 
  7690 × 10,000). The typical O&M cost for a 
  low-tech MRF is 20 $/t. Thus, the O&M cost for an 
  MRF would be 153,800 $/d (= 7690 × 20). 
  Revenues thus exceed costs by 59,297 $/d (= 213,097 
  153,800) or 21,643,430 $/yr (not considering the time value of money within the year). 
  The revenues from one year of operation would pay for the construction of the MRF. 
The long-term implications of recycling can be 
  seen from considering the present worth of the 
  value of revenue minus O&M cost. One can 
  convert an annual value to a present worth value 
  using standard economic tables if the life of a 
  facility and an interest rate are specified (Grant et al., 1982). Present
  worth values for the revenues over cost are shown in Table 11 for various facility
  lives and interest rates. The present worth of the revenues minus O&M cost
  far exceeds the capital cost, even considering short facility lives and
high interest rates. Present worth value mainly 
changes with present worth factor, which also closely
related to interest rates and facility life. For 
facility life of 20 years, present worth value may 
be increased about three times, when present worth factor increased as four times.
  In the same way, present worth value for facility life of 10 
  years may be increased about two times, when 
  present worth factor is increased by two times. 
  Such present worth would still show the value of recycling even if revenues
  were less than calculated above or if excess costs associated
  with bags or bins for recyclable collection were considered.
DISCUSSION 
In high socio-economic family, daily 
  waste generation rates were generally higher than 
  the other lower socio-economic families. The per capita generation rate was ranged from 0.325 
  to 0.485 kg/cap/day, while the average rate was 0.387 kg/cap/day for the six major cities. A 
  total of 7690 t of MSW generated daily in the six 
  major, while the Dhaka city contributed the most 
  (69%, 5340 t) to the total waste stream. In six 
  major cities, it is observed that the organic matters 
  are usually the predominant component in the waste stream, which ranged from 68 to 81% due to 
  the common habit of fresh food consumption, while paper and plastic are about 7 to 11% and 3 to 
  4%, respectively. The glass, leather and rubber 
  were the smallest composition in each city. 
  Statistical analysis indicates that the waste 
  characteristics are slightly different with respect to 
  geographical regions and the influence of seasonal variation 
  is insignificant. 
There is a little variation of other 
  waste characterization studies with compared to 
  the present study due to different local 
  conditions, methodologies, scope and waste 
  component definitions. Composition of MSW is also 
  positively related to other several influencing factors which are changed with
  time. The important factors are public attitude, population density, habits
  and custom of living, life styles, economic
  conditions, fruit seasons, climate, recycling and 
  waste management program, all have a great impact 
  on the waste composition. In addition, there was 
  also a lack of a standard definition for waste 
  sorting categories. Thus, each study defines some of 
  their waste categories differently from other 
  study. There was no reliable study conducted in 
  other major cities of Bangladesh except Dhaka, so comparison could not be possible
  for other cities. 
However, recycling and composting are the 
  great prospective sectors and have immense 
  possibilities to earn revenue for integrated and 
  sustainable waste management as well as 
  environmental benefits. It is also evaluated that the revenue 
  can be earn 21.64 million US$/yr from MSW for six major cities of Bangladesh. Nevertheless, this 
  is just estimation, many factors are community specific. The cost of waste collection is not 
  included because it would be incurred whether the 
  waste is recycled or landfilled. But the collection 
  cost should be included for the remaining 
  uncollected waste, which are improperly disposed on 
  roadside ditches or other vacant places. The waste 
  that used to be discarded need to be recovered and managed in a sustainable way. It would be 
  more appropriate, if the cost data of low-tech MRF 
  and O&M of developing countries can be used 
  for estimating the revenues. The USEPA (1996) recommends that recycling be
  the top priority option used in an integrated solid waste management system.
  Economical feasibility is
  not the only factor that drives the waste 
  management system. A sustainable waste management system also needs to be environmentally
  sound and socially acceptable. 
In low-income countries like Bangladesh, 
  much inorganic waste (such as plastic, metal, glass, 
  etc.) is partially recycled by mainly informal 
  sectors, while NGOs take the lead in composting of 
  organic portion in limited scale and the recycling sector 
  is not touched yet. Nonetheless, much of the 
  organic portion as well as other, value-less waste 
  remains a major problem. This often constitutes more 
  than half by weight of the total MSW generated and requires costly removal and disposal (Ali, 
  2004). Frequently, the failure of under-resourced authorities to collect waste leads to unpleasant 
  city conditions and decomposing waste constitutes 
  in improper places create a serious health and environmental hazard. Therefore, proper 
  initiative should be taken in these great potential sectors 
  as well as attention is also need to be paid to 
  the potential economic and environmental benefits 
  of reducing waste through integrating the role of 
  non-government recyclers, NGOs, CBOs, local and national government authorities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
The financial support provided by Asia Pro 
  Eco Programme of the European Commission, Contract Number: ASIA PRO 
  ECO-ASI/B7-301/2598/16-2004/79010, for this study is 
  gratefully acknowledged.
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