Bangladesh News

Improper use and poor maintenance of 4,500 dumpsters in the capital, overflowing with mountains of garbage, are threatening the environment of the city and the health of its residents.

Random dumping of wastes outside the dumpsters, usually on streets, has become a common practice of the city residents, as there is no monitoring body to control the bad habit.

Unplanned deployment of the dumpsters along with improper disposal of wastes are the key reasons for the spread of various diseases and for aggravating many side effects of diseases among the city’s ailing residents, experts said.

Professor Abdul Jabbar, head of the department of community medicine at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) said indiscriminately dumped wastes spread around mixed with rain water and often seeps into tube wells and water supply lines through leaks, spreading diarrhoea.

“Besides, foul smell emitting from the dumpsters can also cause severe headache, heart problems, nausea and liver complications,” the professor added.

These dumpsters are quite often the breeding grounds for mosquitoes and bees, facilitating the spread of diseases like malaria and typhoid.

Moreover, many hospitals and clinics in the city dump a large amount of medical wastes carrying germs of highly infectious diseases, harmful chemicals, and used needles in nearby dumpsters.

Many of the 50,000 homeless people of the city, who often scavenge through these dumpsters, are regularly coming in contact with these germ infested medical wastes and getting pricked by infected needles.

Some of these discarded used needles, saline containers, and tubes are finding their way back on the market for resale due to the absence of any medical waste disposal facility in the city.

According to a Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) survey 4,000 tons of wastes are collected every day from various dumpsters in the city including around 50 tons of medical wastes.

Denying the allegation that hazardous medical wastes are wantonly being dumped in the city’s dumpsters, Asst Chief Conservancy Officer of DCC MA Quddus said, “DCC has personnel who collect hazardous medical wastes from hospitals and clinics, and dispose of them in a proper manner.”

Prof Jabbar however said, “The hospitals lack facilities for incinerating medical wastes they produce every day and throw them on roadsides, a practice highly hazardous to human beings.”

The dumpsters, frequently placed far away from their designated spots usually remain filled with solid wastes, as DCC does not provide enough manpower to clean them on a regular basis.

“Sweepers of DCC remove the wastes only once in 24 hours,” said a Farmgate resident adding that it is not at all sufficient as the dumpsters usually fill up quickly.

The old part of Dhaka is the worst sufferer from this menace where rainwater submerges on a regular basis a 300-yard long Nazimuddin Road running from Sheikh Burhanuddin Post Graduate College to Nirab Restaurant.

Residents of the area, which has two dumpsters within a distance of 30 yards, frequently experience immense discomfort as rainwater mixed with wastes spilling from the dumpsters creates a situation not at all suitable for a residential area.

“Despite informing DCC several times, it took no effective step to alleviate our misery,” commented a resident of the area.

Denying the allegation DCC officials however said the corporation regularly disposes of the garbage. They also blamed the residents for lack of cooperation.

“We have only 7,256 sweepers deployed to clean the dumpsters, which is not even half the number required to carry out such a huge task.” complained MA Quddus.

“Besides we are not provided with adequate bleaching powder and other pesticides except on Eid or other special occasions due to financial constraints,” he added.

Of all the dumpsters in the capital about 420 are removable metal containers while the rest are fixed and made of concrete without any lid on them.

There are two waste disposal grounds for the capital at Matoail under Demra and at Baliapur under Amin Bazar where around 2 to 2.5 thousand tons and 1 to 1.5 thousand tons of wastes are disposed of respectively every day.