MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND RECOVERY POTENTIAL: BANGLADESH PERSPECTIVE

A total of 7690 tons of municipal solid waste generated daily at the six major cities of Bangladesh, namely, Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet, as estimated in 2005. Sampling was done at different waste generation sources such as residential, commercial, institutional and open areas, in different seasons. The composition of the entire waste stream was about 74.4% organic matter, 9.1% paper, 3.5% plastic, 1.9% textile and wood, 0.8% leather and rubber, 1.5% metal, 0.8% glass and 8% other waste. The per capita generation of municipal solid waste was ranged from 0.325 to 0.485 kg/cap/day while the average rate was 0.387 kg/cap/day as measured in the six major cities. The potential for waste recovery and reduction based on the waste characteristics are evaluated and it is predicted that 21.64 million US$/yr can be earned from recycling and composting of municipal solid waste