Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md Abdus Salam has said plans are underway to recycle waste to produce electricity, gas, compost fertilizer and diesel.
He made the remarks as the chief guest at the inauguration of a “Floating Market in Exchange for Waste” at Swarighat on the Buriganga River in Dhaka on Saturday. The program was jointly organized by Bidyanondo Foundation and DSCC.
Abdus Salam said waste should not simply be viewed as garbage but should instead be converted into a resource.
“We are focusing on how we can quickly generate electricity through waste recycling. We believe we will be able to move to the initial stage in this regard within a few months,” he said.
“Then waste will be transformed into a resource. It will no longer be left scattered everywhere. On the one hand, we need to raise public awareness, and on the other, we need to recycle waste to produce electricity, gas, compost fertilizer and diesel. Our activities in this regard are already underway,” he added.
The DSCC administrator said the Buriganga was once the lifeline of Dhaka, but plastic, polythene and other waste now float in the river.
He said the “Floating Market in Exchange for Waste” initiative had been launched to raise public awareness about preventing river and environmental pollution and to promote the idea of treating waste as a resource.
“We know that all the problems of the Buriganga will not be solved through today’s initiative. But it will send a message to the public that we want to do this and that we need to do it,” he said.
Calling on citizens to come forward to protect the Buriganga, Abdus Salam said people living along both banks of the river and those conducting businesses dependent on it also had a responsibility to act responsibly.
“The Buriganga has reached a point where failure to protect it will leave a bleak future,” he said.
He said initiatives were also being taken to make the Dhaleshwari, Shitalakkhya, Balu and Turag rivers surrounding Dhaka navigable.
“Necessary steps will be taken to restore the river-based transport system that previously connected Dhaka,” he said.
Abdus Salam said under the “Floating Market in Exchange for Waste” initiative, plastic and other waste collected from the river and its banks would be accepted through a designated process.
He said there were plans to gradually expand the initiative to all 75 wards under DSCC.
He added that efforts were underway to launch a pilot project in Kamrangirchar in coordination with Bidyanondo Foundation. The project would explore how waste could be recycled and converted into usable resources.
The DSCC administrator also urged citizens to remain vigilant to prevent dengue.
“Dengue cannot be prevented through city corporation activities alone. Coconut shells, water from air conditioners, stagnant water on rooftops or water accumulating anywhere else must not be allowed to remain. If breeding grounds for mosquitoes can be destroyed, dengue can be prevented to a large extent,” he said.
Speaking as a special guest, Dhaka-7 MP Hamidur Rahman said the initiative primarily aimed to encourage people to collect plastic and other waste lying in and around the river.
“Providing food and essential goods in exchange for waste will raise environmental awareness while also promoting the idea of treating waste as a reusable resource,” he said.
He said the initiative should be continued regularly by involving low-income people living along the river.
“If a designated waste collection point and office are established, it will be possible to collect waste while also meeting the food and essential-goods needs of low-income people,” he added.
Under the “Floating Market in Exchange for Waste” initiative, people can exchange collected waste, after it is weighed, for various essential goods, including rice, lentils, flour, cooking oil, fish, chicken and noodles.
