The Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) includes the collection and disposal of garbage. In Pakistan, the MSWM is not properly regulated which not only results in the spread of diseases but damages the environment as well. Researches in Pakistani cities have shown that not even half of the population has proper MSWM management coverage. Mostly the trash is collected in open spaces, where it is periodically burned by locals or washed away in waterways and canals during rains. The relevant authorities responsible for solid waste collection and its disposal have created landfills next to rivers and canals, where the seasonal water flow changes wash away the rubbish, while polluting the water and filling rivers and dams with rubbish that need to be dredged every year.
Research has also shown that most of the garbage is recycled by the poor who collect recyclable items like metals, plastics, old clothes, wood, paper and cardboard from the solid waste. But these people are unregulated; do not have any safety equipment and can put their health at risk. By providing support to this sector, the solid waste production can be drastically reduced in Pakistan, while also help reduce poverty among this group of workers. Research has also shown that more than 35 percent of the waste produced contains biological waste, like kitchen waste, fruit/vegetable cutting, bones, animal waste, food waste etc. This waste can easily be converted into fertilisers, but the process involved produces foul smelling gas which hampers its use across Pakistan. Nowadays equipment is available that can accomplish this task with no gas leakage, and the municipal organisations across Pakistan should use such equipments to help reduce the production of solid waste and increase the fertiliser production. The remaining garbage should either be buried under leak-proof landfills or burned in a plant which converts waste into energy. The government is requested to review and update the laws governing MSWM in the country. A regulatory authority that should also act as a planning and educating authority for the MSWM should be created that will help implement the above suggestions. This will help reduce solid waste, while improving the community health and environment thus mitigating the effects of climate change.
Engr Zeeshan Khan Baseer
Peshawar
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