Daily Times

Karachi’s DMC East alone has a population density of 41,666 persons per square kilometre, and it produces 322,357 tons of garbage daily. It is enough to produce 3,950 MW garbage electricity-four times of Mangla Dam with 1,000 MW per year-provided that the plant is characterised by transfiguring the waste into refuse derived fuel (RDF) first, and then into electricity. Currently, a few companies are operational in Sindh, but the situation calls for more investments by competent enterprises.

The populace of Karachi is cognizant of the plight of garbage scattered at multiple locations across the city. Under meticulous supervision of the provincial regime, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board is predominately responsible for showing up in this regard. The problem of waste management falls under the jurisdiction of the Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which preserves the right to life and liberty. It is the duty of state and masses to venerate sanctity of the said law through effective promulgation and practice.

The government heretofore sanctioned an annual contract of two billion rupees to the ChangyiKangjie Sanitation Engineering Limited, a Chinese waste processing company. They have deployed wreckage collecting and processing paraphernalia: 200 refuse vehicles, 1,300 handcarts and 8,700 dustbins of different capacities. The equipment thus acquired is insufficient to contend with the colossal metropolitan trouble.

Superintending the street trash in Karachi is a win-win project. The government of Sindh, during the last tenure, subcontracted this venture to some local as well as foreign waste management companies. Opportunity-investment gap is too vast to be bridged with the help of the present government’s policies. In fact, we shall only incur a huge cost if the government considers going with the maintenance of conventional refuse management system.

Incapability of all governments in coping with the garbage problem has opened a lucrative investment opportunity in the private sector

Incapability of all governments in coping with the garbage problem has opened a lucrative investment opportunity in the private sector. Complete incineration of waste in Karachi will produce multifarious benefits. The proposed project has massive plausibility of generating more than 40,000 employment opportunities for managers and general labour in order to systematically collect, transport and process the debris. Concurrently, the project will further initiate investment ventures for recycling industry to design new products and raw materials.

According to the World Bank’s statistics, the least municipal solid waste producing countries, including Ghana and Uruguay, account for 0.09 and 0.11 kilograms of garbage per person per day. Conversely, Trinidad and Tobago, being the biggest trash producers, account for 14.50 kilograms of waste per person per day. Speaking of the developed countries, Switzerland and Norway stand at 2.61 and 2.80 respectively.

Municipal governments, in most of the countries, take responsibility to keep the environment clean. Ministries of public works in civilised countries are always geared up to tacklethe trash issue. Despite utilising hundred percent of its garbage, Sweden imports waste from the neighbouring countries and recycles it for the good of its environment, people and economy.

In recycling of waste, a broad spectrum of ideas is being practised across the landscape. The Bottle Bank Arcade, a machine introduced by Sweden, is used to amass waste bottles for recycling purposes. India is preparing sanitary pads from cloth residuals. Brazilians have evolved the concept of vertical gardens from soda bottles. The government of Singapore has implemented a recycling programme that utilises 54 percent waste of the country.

Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicines is an active enterprise in the United States. This enterprise redistributes unused medicines to clinics at a lower price. Furniture items are being made from the waste in Georgia and South Africa. A project is being carried out in Paraguay, which uses trash as a raw material for making musical instruments. Garbage is treated as an economic resource in Europe. Regretfully, it is still an abominable thing in Pakistan.

On account of capability of the project to repay both in economic and monetary terms, the recommendations underneath chalk out an operational scaffold for its execution. Thinking of coming to blows against garbage will not work. The government should take some solid steps to set up newfangled waste-to-energy plants, and engage companies in collecting and transporting street waste to the plants and other recycling units.

The process of subcontracting must be extended to companies with a reasonable financial net worth and a large workforce. Establishing modern waste incinerators that can reduce the volume of original waste to 95 percent can produce results. Modern waste management practices are required to recycle municipal solid waste. Untreated waste goes waste causing a definite economic loss. Garbage should be replaced with vegetation and trees to safeguard proximal population from health hazards. Sowing a seed of nationalism at the core of people’s hearts can help Pakistan accomplish this task.

The writer can be reached at waheedmba@yahoo.com