Solid Waste Management

Solid waste management and collection/disposal of hazardous hospital waste
Khatib Ahmed writes about the need of availing alternative options for improving the solid waste management system in the city.

Karachi generates about 8000 tons of solid waste per day. 90% waste that is generated is recyclable. It is managed in the following manner:

• 40% reduced by informal sector which is now being recovered by private sector/market forces/in informal sector (No expense incurred by Government)

• 90% of all the recovered items are recycled and reused. Hospital Waste lying



Recycled items include

• Bones
• Glass (Scraps)
• Paper (Scrap/Cardboard)
• Plastics/Polyethylene
• Tin/Metals • Rubber/tyre & tubes
• Waste oil/grease
• 60% of the items are biodegradable/organic (vegetable, fruits matter and organic waste) which are not recoved and cause environmental hazards.

Organic Composting

Composting of Organic Waste is not being done. It is possible to compost the organic wastes on Community level for which the technology is available locally.

Technology is very simple and has been tested out in PCSIR Karach Laboratories and other organizations. Working models are also present in Karachi and few individuals are practicing it at their homes for biodegrading their kitchen and garden waste into compost which they use for their own gardens. If produced on a large scale, it will be more than sufficient to meet the entire requirement of manure by the city’s horticult u re department and also the nearby fields and orchards. These units already buy manure for their plots/garden, green belts.

Addition of compost to the manure improves the quality of soil and also reduces the quantity of manure purchased. Because of its water retention capacity, it helps reduce the water requirement for plants.

The city government should urgently attend to composting because by having a composting plant a sizeable quantity that has to transported to landfills will be diverted to composting plants.

The following documents are available for reference and recommendations from the Shehri office:

1. Promotion of Waste Recycling and Reused in Developing Countries, Study on behalf of UNCHS-Habitat, Nairobi, Kenya- by Khatib Ahmed of NTCS, Karachi.

2. A Citizens Guide to "Soild Waste Management" - by Farhan Anwar

3. Neighbourhood Level Solid Waste Management in Karachi - Issues and Solution - by Farhan Anwar.

4. Institutional Assessment & Evaluation of Public Facilities Management practices in Local Government. Solid Waste Management Sector of Karachi, A Case Study - by Farhan Anwar.

5. Report on Composting of Sabzi Mandi Waste - by Radia Khatib, Naseem F. Usmani, Mohammad Adil of PCSIR, Karachi.

6. Investigation into compostability of Zoological Garden Waste - by Radia Khatib, Naseem F. Usmani of PCSIR, Karachi.

7. Development and study on Low Cost Household/Community Level Composting Unit - by Radia Khatib, Naseem F. Usmani, Mohammad Adil of PCSIR, Karachi.

(Excerpts from a paper read by Mr. Khatib Ahmed, Chairman Shehri-CBE in a Seminar - October 6, 2001 - Solid & Hospital Waste Management, organized by Sindh Ombudsman Secretariat)


Solid waste management in Karachi
Rizwana Kazmi raises some important issues regarding the solid waste management system in Karachi and outline some plans for actions.

Karachi is Pakistan’s most important and the only port city. It is a hub of commercial and industrial activity, accommodating nearly 70 percent of the country’s total industry. The rapid growth of the city, lack of effective land use and proper and effective maintenance system of essential services have led to grave environmental problems. The magnitude of the solid waste problem of Karachi is often reflected in the print media. The findings of various research studies on the topic present supporting conclusion.



According to the daily "DAWN" dated February 27th,2002, Karachi alone produces about some 10,000 metric tones of solid waste daily out of which only 30 - 40 percent is transported and dumped into open landfills while the rest is either left unattended or is being burnt in-situ.

As per a study conducted by UNIDO, apart from industrial waste, another major and most dangerous source of solid waste generation is hospital, clinics and pathological laboratories. Out of many, only one hospital has its own incinerator while the rest rely on the two incinerators of the local government, one of which is not operational. Hospital waste includes toxic, radioactive inflammable and biological waste. A little mismanagement in this situation can cause spread of lethal diseases like Hepatitis C and HIV / AIDs.

The city has two landfill sites, each with an area of 500 acres and a combined capacity to absorb 2,000 tones of waste per days for 20 years.

Although the city’s landfills have the capacity to absorb most of the daily waste produced by the city, hardly 40 per cent of the waste is collected at a time due to lack of resources and poorly administered collection and disposal system with the result that much of the city’s waste goes un-collected for long periods.

Waste is scavenged and burnt in the populated areas exposing the residents to health hazards , adding to the already severe problem of air pollution and creating opportunities for pests to breed and for spread of diseases.

Recently, findings of a waste survey were published by Daily DAWN. According to the survey of Korangi and Landhi, which are highly industrialized regions of Karachi, the incidence of chest infections is alarmingly high in the areas where solid waste is burnt affecting the respiratory system of the inhabitants. According to government sources, about 75 percent of the people coming to hospitals are afflicted with respiratory infections. A majority of these patients live in the areas where solid waste is burnt. Medical experts are of the opinion that the residents living in close proximity to places where solid waste is burnt continuously inhale fumes and develop infections.

Solid waste, which is not collected or burnt, is thrown in drains, which results in choking of drains and further pollutes the environment.

In addition to this, 330 million gallons per day (mgd) of industrial and domestic effluent is also discharged into the sea every day and approximately 70 percent of it reaches the marine environment without any form of treatment having profound effect on the marine environment.

A proper system of solid waste management is lacking for the city and the various bodies responsible for waste disposal are inefficient. For a city with a rapidly expanding population, the existing waste management capacity is far too inadequate and outmoded and needs to be improved, otherwise the problem of ineffective solid waste management services will continue to haunt those living in urban areas.