A novel approach to waste management
The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) under its current leadership has been known to approach civic issues with a degree of innovation sometimes, even though its impact hasn't been widely felt. Innovation is still necessary and should be encouraged with proper supervision given the magnitude of the problems facing the city. One of these is littering or improper waste disposal leading to pollution of water bodies, environmental degradation, diseases, etc. Against this backdrop, the recent initiative by the DNCC to purchase discarded items from residents as a means of combatting dengue deserves to be acknowledged.
The month-long campaign will encourage residents to collect and exchange these waste items for cash. According to officials, purchasing rates will vary from item to item: Tk 1 for each packet of chips, Tk 2 for each coconut shell, Tk 10 for each ice-cream packet, and Tk 50 per kilogramme for discarded polythene. Furthermore, containers made of clay, plastic, melamine, or ceramic will be purchased at Tk 3 each, abandoned tyres at Tk 50 each, and abandoned commodes and basins at Tk 100 each. These items and containers are potential breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, and the DNCC aims to take them out before the monsoon season begins.
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We have to admit that if done right and later scaled up to include a large number of residents, the project has the potential to help in our fight against the menace of plastics. But it is crucial to ensure transparency in the process as public funds are involved. More importantly, it is important that such initiatives are taken as part of a bigger plan to address our plastic problem of which a dengue outbreak is but a side-effect. Plastic pollution needs holistic interventions that not only incentivise waste collection but also ensure proper disposal and recycling of all plastic products.
We, therefore, urge the authorities to ensure that all such initiatives are properly planned, aligned and executed. The city corporations and municipalities also must ensure that their own waste management departments function properly to advance these goals.
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