Dhaka’s waste management system is failing to keep pace with its growing needs, and our roads and footpaths turning into dumping grounds is yet another indication of just that.
Overflowing bins, exposed garbage, and poorly located secondary transfer stations are not merely an eyesore; they obstruct pedestrians, worsen traffic congestion, and expose residents to foul odours, wastewater, and serious environmental and public-health risks.
The scale of the challenge makes a more systematic approach imperative.
The two city corporations reportedly collect around 6,500 tons of waste every day, and operate 118 temporary secondary transfer stations, in addition to the permanent landfill sites at Aminbazar and Matuail.
Yet the continued presence of waste on public roads demonstrates that collection alone cannot constitute effective waste management.
The authorities must first reconsider the placement and design of waste transfer stations: Facilities located beside busy roads, schools, hospitals, shops, and residential areas inevitably create public-health and mobility problems.
Properly designed, enclosed, and strategically located stations, equipped with adequate capacity and drainage, should therefore replace makeshift dumping points.
Collection schedules must also become more reliable. Waste should not be allowed to accumulate until bins overflow onto public spaces.
Greater investment in covered vehicles, efficient transportation, and modern treatment and disposal facilities is necessary, alongside stricter monitoring of contractors and city corporation workers.
At the same time, waste segregation at source should become a central component of the city’s long-term strategy. Separating organic, recyclable, and hazardous waste would make recycling and composting more viable while reducing pressure on landfills.
Public awareness campaigns must accompany this, because no municipal system can succeed if citizens continue to dump waste indiscriminately.
Most importantly, responsibility must be clearly assigned and enforced effectively. Dhaka’s residents deserve clean, accessible footpaths and roads, not garbage-filled public spaces.
Waste management must be treated as essential urban infrastructure, because the residents deserve a Dhaka with clean, garbage-free public spaces.