Dhaka’s roads and footpaths are increasingly being used as garbage dumping points, forcing pedestrians onto busy streets while exposing residents, businesses and commuters to foul odors, toxic leachate and potential health risks.
From Kalabagan and Mohammadpur to Gabtoli and Aminbazar, overflowing bins, exposed waste and secondary transfer stations (STSs) have encroached on public spaces, disrupting pedestrian movement and worsening traffic congestion.
Experts say the problem reflects deeper failures in the capital’s waste-management system, warning that poorly managed garbage is contributing to air, soil and water pollution while creating serious public-health risks.
According to officials, Dhaka has two major permanent landfill sites — Aminbazar in the north and Matuail in the south. The two city corporations also operate 118 temporary secondary transfer stations or dumping points for the temporary storage of waste.
The two corporations collect around 6,500 tonnes of waste every day.
Waste stations encroaching on public spaces
A Dhaka Tribune field visit on Sunday found several dumping points occupying roads and footpaths in Iqbal Road in Mohammadpur, Kalabagan, Gaidartek in Gabtoli and Aminbazar.
At Kalabagan, a secondary transfer station has been established beside a major road, leaving the adjoining footpath largely unusable.
Large bins were overflowing, with additional garbage dumped around them. The stench spread to nearby shops, schools, businesses and homes.
Pedestrians were forced onto the main road, while some covered their noses with handkerchiefs to avoid the smell.
Garbage trucks stopping to collect waste also contributed to traffic congestion. Leachate was seen spilling from city corporation vehicles onto roads as they transported waste.
Shariful Islam, who was walking with his wife beside the Kalabagan STS, said the facility had made the area extremely uncomfortable.
“The footpath has been occupied because of the dumping station. City corporation vehicles and workers are constantly moving around here. The terrible smell also makes it impossible to walk along the footpath,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Abbas Mia, who runs Kashem Drug opposite the station, said the smell sometimes becomes unbearable.
“Running a shop here is very difficult. Sometimes the smell of garbage becomes so bad that I close the shop and leave,” he said.
Kalabagan resident Ripon Ashraf said such a facility had no place in an area surrounded by hospitals, schools, businesses and homes.
“The transfer station needs to be moved elsewhere,” he said.
Aminbazar, Gabtoli face similar problems
A similar picture was found at Gaidartek in Gabtoli and Aminbazar, where garbage bins have been placed beside or directly on roads.
Waste was overflowing from the bins, while additional garbage had accumulated on the roads. The strong stench made it difficult to breathe comfortably.
Smoke was also seen rising from a garbage pile in Aminbazar and spreading toward nearby areas.
The road is an important route for buses and other vehicles heading toward northern Bangladesh, and commuters face additional difficulties when waste trucks stop to collect garbage.
Md Alamin, a Selfie bus driver, said vehicles often get stuck in traffic in the area.
“Sometimes vehicles remain stuck in traffic here. It feels like you are about to suffocate,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Sarowadi Hossain, a Gaidartek resident who runs a sand business in Gabtoli, said he has to cover his nose with a handkerchief when walking along the road.
He previously lived in Aminbazar but moved because of the foul smell and poor environmental conditions, he said.
Aminbazar residents also alleged that waste from the landfill is entering nearby water bodies and agricultural land.
They said waste-laden water reaches crop fields, affecting agricultural production. Fish caught in the area also have a strong foul smell and are often unfit for consumption, they claimed.
Experts warn of health risks
Dr Ayesha Akter, deputy director of the 250-bed TB Hospital, said dumping waste beside roads and footpaths creates serious environmental and public-health risks.
“When garbage is dumped on roads and footpaths, foul-smelling waste spreads through the air and contributes to soil, water and air pollution,” she told Dhaka Tribune.
She said prolonged exposure to polluted air from decomposing waste could increase the risks of asthma, breathing difficulties, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as lung cancer.
Children are particularly vulnerable, she said, as exposure to polluted air can affect their development and increase their risk of respiratory illnesses.
‘Dumping stations should not be in populated areas’
Dr Rowshanara Momtaz, a Buet civil engineering professor and director of ITN-BUET, said STSs should not be located in densely populated areas.
“Kalabagan has hospitals, schools, a lake, businesses and residential areas. It is a densely populated area,” she told Dhaka Tribune.
Because the station is beside a major road, she said, city corporation vehicles occupy the footpath when collecting waste and contribute to traffic congestion.
Neither pedestrians nor workers involved in transporting waste have adequate safety measures, she said.
“The rotten smell can be detected from several yards away and spreads through the air. This is extremely unhygienic and seriously harmful to the environment and public health,” she said.
She also raised concerns about leachate leaking from garbage trucks.
Such liquid waste can spread through the environment and be carried by birds and rodents into residential areas, posing risks to children and other residents, she said.
Aminbazar landfill raises environmental concerns
Dr Momtaz said the Aminbazar facility also poses serious environmental risks because of its location and the way waste is managed there.
“A landfill like this can never be located beside a major road. Aminbazar is no longer simply a landfill; it has effectively become a large dumping station,” she said.
During the monsoon, plastic and other waste can mix with rainwater and enter nearby canals and rivers, including branches of the Turag and eventually the Buriganga, she said.
This can harm fish, crops and surrounding ecosystems.
The landfill’s proximity to residential areas, water bodies and agricultural land also creates significant health and environmental risks, she added.
Dr Momtaz called for technological improvements in solid waste management and the relocation of dumping stations away from densely populated areas.
City corporations promise action
Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md Abdus Salam said the government was working to introduce modern waste-management methods, reduce import dependence and make greater use of local engineers.
Asked about the Kalabagan STS, he said it had been established before he took charge.
“I did not establish it. I was not there at the time. However, since taking responsibility, I have been trying to keep the footpath and road around the station clean,” he said.
Asked about relocating the facility, he said moving it elsewhere could prompt objections from residents of the new location.
Dhaka North City Corporation Chief Waste Management Officer Commodore Mohammad Humayun Kabir said bins were provided at temporary dumping points but some people continued to dump waste outside them.
He said an additional person was assigned alongside garbage-van drivers to monitor disposal.
“I have learned about it. Action will definitely be taken,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Bangladesh lags behind modern waste systems
Experts said Bangladesh remains behind countries that use technology-driven waste collection, segregation and disposal systems.
Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Germany and Finland are among countries with advanced waste-management systems. Some cities use underground vacuum or pipeline networks to transport waste to processing facilities.
In the United States, households generally use designated containers, with collection taking place on scheduled days. Separate bins are commonly used for general waste, recyclables and yard waste.
Modern collection trucks can also use hydraulic robotic arms to lift and empty bins without workers manually handling the waste.
Dr Momtaz said Bangladesh needs to adopt similar systems while improving waste segregation and recycling.
“Bangladesh is lagging behind in ensuring that waste collected from dumping stations and households does not spill onto roads,” she said.
Developed countries, she said, increasingly separate waste at source, recycle usable materials and recover value through biogas and organic fertilizer production.
They have also developed commercially viable systems for managing electronic waste, she added.
For Dhaka, the immediate challenge remains more basic: keeping garbage off roads and footpaths and ensuring waste stations do not become hazards for the very communities they are meant to serve.
