Nudge-based approach can pave the way, write Manjurul Ahsan and Mehedi Imam
AS WE aim a smart Bangladesh by 2041, almost all urban centres, including Dhaka, grapple with significant challenges in solid waste management. Global warming, deforestation and unplanned urbanisation are exacerbating the issues, making urban living increasingly difficult. An incremental release of greenhouse gases such as methane from two landfill sites on the outskirts of Dhaka is worsening the situation, particularly reducing the quality of air. A nudge-based approach in waste management could be a way to ensure sustainable waste management across cities and towns.
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Current practices
WASTE management efforts for Dhaka city now involve collecting waste from households and commercial spaces, transporting it to secondary transfer units and, eventually, to landfill sites at Amin Bazar in Dhaka鈥檚 north and Matuail in Dhaka鈥檚 south. This 鈥榖urden shifting鈥� approach merely relocates the problem without resolving it. The present door-to-door waste collection involves five to seven steps, spanning 24 to 36 hours for the dumping of the waste at landfills.
This delayed composting process, also replicated in other cities and towns, results in the spread of odour and diseases, the emission of greenhouse gases such as methane, a significant decline in the quality of organic waste for being converted into fertilisers and so on. It also poses severe public health risks by soil, water and air pollution in phases while the collection at secondary transfer units is under way, transporting to landfill sites and, finally, at the landfills.
A huge volume of assorted waste at the landfills makes it nearly impossible to segregate the organic from the inorganic waste. No safe compost can be extracted and much insignificant volume of recyclable inorganic waste can be recovered for recycling industry from the landfills. An open-air burning of the assorted waste at the landfills often takes place, causing huge air pollution.
Apart from all this, almost all major cities have suffer from several unexpected outcomes, including waste overflowing into new, unintended dumping sites along the roads, leading to respective urban centres.
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Green cycle initiative
The green cycle initiative, based on nudging approach, aims to significantly enhance 3R 鈥� reduce, reuse and recycle 鈥� practices, reduce the waste flow to dumping sites, minimise the burning of harmful waste and stop the pollution generation cycle. It suggests encouragement and enabling in changing behavioral decisions, having focused on human鈥檚 instinctive connection to the nature in making urban spaces greener and resolving solid waste management challenges. Depending on the process, it is an integration of efforts of two types: rooftop/indoor plantation and solid waste management in urban centres.
The nudge-based approach ensures waste segregation and composting at-source or in the respective community by facilitating community members to complete their green cycle through an efficient circulation of waste towards a safe disposal. This organic waste being generated at households or commercial spaces, or both, and processed into organic fertilsers at on-site composters or community waste recycling plants is finally used for indoor/rooftop plantation at the same households or commercial spaces or both. This organic engagement of community members will encourage them in at-source waste segregation, which is the prime challenge of modern solid waste management methods.
Facilitating rooftop/indoor plantation by making plants and organic fertilisers available within communities could act as a soft push towards greening spaces and reducing the urban heat as well. At the same time, it requires a focus on using organic wastes at the production point 鈥� household, commercial and other community spaces 鈥� with the use of composters, on the 鈥榓s and where required鈥� basis, to ensure at-source segregation. Thus, there will be no waste left to transport and dump at the landfill.
The initiative begins by encouraging community members to use separate waste bins at houses and commercial spaces such as restaurants for at-source segregation. This initial step sets the stage for a more sustainable waste management process by introducing the composting of organic wastes at the households and commercial spaces. The resulting compost can be used for indoor and rooftop plantation. The surplus can meet the market demand through a viable business model.
This approach is, particularly, appealing as rooftop gardening and plantation have become popular with city dwellers in Dhaka, with landlords enjoying tax benefits from city corporations. Additionally, no payment needs to be made for household waste collectors. It can, rather, earn from recyclable waste. At the macro level, city corporations and municipalities will need to spend less on the entire waste management.
Establishing community-based waste recycling plants: To support this effort, the green cycle initiative proposes establishing community-based waste recycling plants. Such recycling plants will be equipped with composters, incinerators, nurseries and organic fertiliser sales facilities. Trained waste pickers will collect assorted waste from households, and commercial and other community spaces and take it to the waste recycling plant. Volunteers at the recycling plants will segregate the inorganic waste and process the organic waste in composters. The recyclable inorganic waste will be directed to the respective recycling industries, and residues will be safely incinerated.
Encouraging onsite composting: Restaurants and multi-storey residential buildings will be encouraged to set up their own composters. To facilitate this, composters of varying capacities will need to be made available on the market at affordable prices. This step aims to reduce waste flow to waste reclycling plants by promoting onsite composting.
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Benefits and outcomes
THE green cycle initiative offers a range of benefits that contribute to a sustainable solid waste management and environmental health. Firstly, it encourages at-source waste segregation by inducing community members in听 an organic process of category-wise waste segregation at source. This practice alleviates the burden on waste recycling plants by reducing the volume of mixed waste that they handle. Additionally, promoting onsite composting ensures that more waste is processed where it is generated, diminishing the volume transported to waste recycling plants.
Consequently, this approach decreases dependency on landfills, curbing overflow and the formation of unplanned dumpsites along roadsides. Moreover, the initiative delivers substantial environmental and health advantages by reducing harmful emissions from waste incineration and mitigating associated public health risks. The efforts contribute to a sustainable, circular economy by converting waste into valuable resources such as organic fertiliser, fostering greener urban spaces and promoting environmental sustainability.
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Sustainable future through smart management
A NATIONWIDE campaign to promote indoor and rooftop plantation and at-source waste segregation within a community or ward can serve as an excellent starting point for introducing transformative changes in waste management through community-level composting in any city. By advocating onsite organic waste use and ensuring at-source segregation, the nudge-based initiative aims to make traditional solid waste management practices smart and sustainable. This sustainable model will reduce waste being sent to landfills, minimise harmful environmental impacts and pave the way for a clean, green and healthy urban environment.
This model can be replicated to address solid waste management challenges in emerging cities, small towns and villages across Bangladesh. It is crucial to transform the existing waste management system as landfill sites are losing their capacity, leading to waste overflow along main roads and back to the source or origin.
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Manjurul Ahsan and Mehedi Imam are writers and researchers.
