Field Note 46340 Community Based Pilot Project on Solid Waste Management in Khulna City: General Project Description South Asia Region Khulna is a typical city in Bangladesh faced with growing urban environmental problems. This fact sheet discusses common problems in solid waste management and gives a general description of a community based pilot project that attempts to test and establish a partnership approach between communities and the Khulna City Corporation. Khulna City Corporation (KCC) Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) THE CITY SITUATION of their waste in the masonry bins. Khulna City Profile Box 1 The waste is then transported to its Khulna is the third largest city in final disposal site (approximately 8 Estimated Bangladesh. Situated in flat terrain km from the city) by City Corporation population (2000) 1.2 million with industrial activity in and around trucks. the city, it acts as a gateway to the Population growth rate 5 % per year nearby sea port of Mongla. The city Heaps of waste remain uncollected Area 70 sq. km. core, which is about one-quarter of in many parts of the city; KCC trucks Number of the total city area, is densely populated only pick up waste from the roadside households (1991) 138,000 with mostly multi-storied residential bins while waste is frequently disposed Number of city wards 31 and commercial buildings. The rest of in open drains, free land and around the city is a mixture of urban and peri- the waste bin sites. It is estimated that Low-income urban areas. There are several low- of the 200 tons of waste generated households approx. 30% income housing areas and slums daily, between a third and a half located throughout the city. remains uncollected. Uncollected waste blocks drains, causes water Khulna City Corporation (KCC) is logging and spills over on to roads, responsible for the operation and often resulting in increased traffic maintenance of municipal services, congestion. These problems are acute including solid waste management. during the rainy season especially in The City Corporation is headed by an poor neighborhoods which are elected Mayor and operates through frequently located in relatively low 41 elected Ward Commissioners one lying areas and have narrow alleys for each of the 31 Wards with an through which municipal trucks additional 10 women Ward Com- cannot pass. missioners. It is made up of eight functional departments and the The problem of solid waste manage- conservancy department is respon- ment is too extensive for the City sible for solid waste management, Corporation to manage and they are street sweeping, public latrines and heavily dependant on grants from the urinals, cleaning of drains, etc. The central government. The conservancy solid waste management service tax (4% of holding tax) is insufficient organizes waste collection from to fund the current level of service. In Map of Khulna City approximately 1,200 City Corpo- 1998 income from the tax was only ration masonry bins, located on Taka 2.7 million (1 US$ = Taka 50) GENESIS OF THE roadsides throughout the city. while expenditure by the conservancy PROJECT Households are expected to dispose department was Taka 17.8 million. In 1986 Khurram Mahboob launched a community based initiative to deal with similar solid waste problems in his neighbourhood of Kalagaban in Dhaka city. He motivated local households to pay for a door-to-door waste collection service which resulted in a significantly cleaner neigh- bourhood where drains were no longer blocked with waste and the problems of water logging and mosquitoes were reduced. The initiative is still working and has been replicated by several NGOs in Dhaka city. The important lessons learned from this initiative were: ! Community participation is indispensable to the success of A busy road in Khulna City -2- solid waste management at the The success of the door-to-door local level. waste collection initiated by Khurram THE PILOT PROJECT Mahboob encouraged the Water and ! Urban communities, especially Sanitation Program (WSP) to test its The pilot project for community based those who rent their properties, are replication in other urban areas. They solid waste management in Khulna more "reactive" than "proactive". discussed the concept for a pilot city was launched in March 1997 with The demand for improved solid project and selected Khulna to test the a scheduled completion date of waste management needs to be scheme because a) the City December 2000. The estimated cost facilitated by individuals or Corporation seemed most receptive is Taka 13.6 million (US$ 315,500). groups. to innovative ideas; b) a motivated The project operates in 6 of the 31 NGO (Prodipan), who could lead the city wards; these were chosen to ! Where a reliable service can be project activities, was based in the represent a cross-section of the city guaranteed the community are area; c) the problems and complexities areas (built up, peri-urban, slums, willing to pay for it. of waste management in Khulna are etc.). Prodipan, a local NGO, was representative of those faced by towns selected to lead the project activities. ! Municipalwastecollectionservices and cities throughout Bangladesh. The Throughout the project Prodipan has are more effective when they work Swiss Agency for Development and worked closely with communities and in partnership with community led Co-operation (SDC) agreed to the City Corporation and has been primary collection from support and fund the pilot project on supported by WSP and SDC. Roles of households. the basis of a proposal submitted by the different project partners are Prodipan. shown in box 2. THE PROJECT PARTNERS Box 2 Objectives Communities Management of the Primary collection The objectives of the pilot project were: (in the project areas) system and contribution towards its' cost. ! Togaina strategicunderstanding of the urban waste and sanitation Khulna City Collaboration, institutional support and situation and to identify a range Corporation (KCC) onward links to municipal systems. of appropriate options suitable for communities who are willing to Prodipan (NGO) Lead agency to implement the project share costs and participate in the activities. management process; Swiss Agency for Development and Management and project ! To make an assessment of social Cooperation (SDC) funding. and economic prerequisites and institutional changes needed to Water and Sanitation Strategic supervision and technical incorporate the partnership Program (WSP) support. approach in municipal service delivery; PROJECT STRATEGIES Box 3 ! Toidentifywaysinwhichmunicipal authorities can link up with Based on previous experience in Bangladesh and comparable developing community management of solid countries Project strategies were to be: waste; and ! responsive: balancing local needs with wider institutional, technical and ! Toidentifythepotentialtoscaleup environmental constraints; from the pilot project to a larger ! equitable: addressing the needs of all sectors of the community; investment in urban waste ! empowering: motivating and organizing local people to help them to find management. solutions to problems at the local level; PROJECT ACTIVITIES ! decentralised: into small managerial units or blocks over the whole city; ! diverse: experimenting with a range of technologies or processes rather than The main project activity was to attempting to find one single solution applicable to all situations; and establish a community based approach to solid waste manage- ! flexible: to allow for developments and modifications in approaches and ment in which responsibilities are activities. shared between households and the -3- city authorities. The Project strategies Schematic diagram showing the conventional and community are shown in Box 3. Box 4 outlines based approach to solid waste management Box 4 the problems associated with the conventional system and explains the workings of the community based Problems approach. This project was divided CHA Low motivation, traveling distance and social factors lead to into three phases: disposal in open spaces, drains and around road-side bins. APPRO ! Project Initiation ! Community Organisation ! Operation of Primary Collection System COMMUNITY Several road-side bins Fianl disposal site Phase I: Project Initiation Household Responsibility City Corporation Responsibility Institutional arrangements agreed CHA with Khulna City Corporation at the Primary collection Secondary collection beginning of the project allowed APPRO Prodipan to carry out primary waste collection and to receive payment for these services. There was active collaboration at the city level where the Mayor's support was required and Few transfer points Fianl disposal site with Ward Commissioners at the local CONVENTIONAL Household Community City Corporation ward level. Functional departments responsibility Responsibility Responsibility of the City Corporation (conservancy, engineering, etc.) provided technical The conventional approach to solid waste management and logistical support. In June 1998 these arrangements between the KCC Waste is generated in the home and usually stored until a small amount has and Prodipan were formalized by the been accumulated. It is the responsibility of the generating household to transport signing of a Memorandum of the waste to the nearest road side bin which is provided by the city corporation. The city corporation is responsible for the transfer of this waste from the roadside Understanding. An orientation bins to the final disposal site. workshop for City Corporation staff familiarized them with project Problems with the conventional approach In many cases the city corporation fails to provide a sufficient number of roadside bins or does not position them in convenient locations or fails to ensure that they are of an appropriate design. As a result householders may dump the waste in open spaces, drains or simply around roadside bins. Poor motivation for proper waste disposal can be due to low awareness of the hazards of irresponsible solid waste management or social factors that make it unacceptable for certain members of the household to take waste to the roadside bins. Delays in waste collection and transportation to the final disposal site by the city corporation also occur due to institutional or financial problems. The community based approach In Khulna the city wards are divided into small areas called primary collection blocks. These consist of approximately 500 households which are all served by one rickshaw van. Waste generated in the home is stored and collected everyday by a primary collector who transports the waste to nearby transfer points, normally in a rickshaw van. This is primary collection and is the responsibility of the community. Transfer points are places where waste is unloaded from primary collection vehicles to be taken away by secondary transport. Several primary collection blocks are served by a transfer point. The waste is then collected from the transfer points and taken to the final disposal point by a large truck. This is secondary collection and is the responsibility of the city corporation. People often dump garbage on vacant land -4- objectives and helped to secure their Investment cost for primary in plastic bags or containers, hand support for project activities. The collection system for one them over to the van driver who takes project was formally inaugurated by collection block Box 5 Box 5 the waste to a local transfer point. the City Mayor. Items Cost These transfer points are situated at Rickshaw van 10,500 roadside locations agreed with the A Project Advisory Committee, chaired KCC. The City Corporation trucks Tools 800 by the CEO of the City Corporation, then transport waste to the final Protective clothing 500 was established in June 1997. It disposal site. The project strategy is includes representatives from Total Cost Taka 11,800 to extend the collection services to all government departments, Prodipan * At present rate 1 US$ = Taka 50 categories of households ­ rich, and other NGOs, Khulna University, middle income and poor. Bangladesh Institute of Technology at collection block (a rickshaw van and Khulna, WSP and SDC. The Commi- accessories) is Taka 11,800 (Box 5). In addition to door to door collection ttee meets quarterly to monitor and WSP provided guidance on the design the project provided, on a trial basis, review the project. of the collection system and pro- plastic bins in the compound of some curement of equipment. Rickshaw multi-storied apartment buildings (one Capacity building measures to vans were manufactured in a local bin for each building). The residents increase Prodipan's effectiveness workshop. Prodipan recruited a driver put waste in the bins for collection by included; staff visits to observe similar and assistant for each rickshaw van the van drivers. The placement of collection processes in Kalabagan and trained them in collection these bins has increased the operating and other areas in Dhaka; training methods, hygiene, routing of vans, efficiency of the primary collection in Participatory Urban Appraisal interaction with households and system. Similar bins are also provided (PUA), community motivation, routine maintenance of equipment. in a few slums where several strategy formulation and preparation households share a bin. of local work plans by DASCOH, an Phase III: Operation of Primary international NGO; and a five day Collection System The primary collection operation is staff development and management managed by the Waste Management training program for project staff. Waste collection in the 6 project wards Committees with support from Two local partner NGOs, Nabarun was divided into 26 primary waste Prodipan. The intensity of this support Shanga and Rastik, were selected and collection blocks. These blocks consist is gradually reducing and it is trained by Prodipan and WSP of an average of 500 households and anticipated that the Committees will provided assistance in preparing an can be served by one waste collection be able to operate and maintain the operational framework to implement van. The blocks are bounded by roads system themselves when the project is the project activities or other obvious physical limits. The completed. Monthly operating costs primary waste collection system for a typical primary collection system Phase II: Community Organisation consists of daily house to house in one collection block is estimated collection by rickshaw vans. at Taka 3,000 per month (Box 6). Over the first few months communities Households gather their day's waste Prodipan receives a monthly fee from in the project areas were organized to take over the operation and maintenance of the primary collection systems. This required behavioral changes among local people . Project activities included Participatory Urban Appraisal sessions to determine householders' perceptions of solid waste problems in their neighbour- hoods, possible solutions and their willingness to share costs. Participa- tory awareness and motivational workshops were organised by Prodipan and Waste Management Committees were formed and trained to manage the collection operation for each primary collection block. The investment cost for the operation of a primary collection system for one Door to door waste collection -5- Monthly operating cost of a OTHER PROJECT primary collection system for one collection block Box 6 ACTIVITIES Water and Sanitation Items Cost Program ­ South Asia Van driver's salary 1,600 The pilot project was concerned mainly with the community based Assistant's salary 500 World Bank Office, Dhaka primary collection system in selected 3A Paribag, Dhaka 1000 Supervision costs of WMC 600 areas. However it became apparent Bangladesh Repair and maintenance 50 that complementary initiatives to Depreciation cost 250 Telephone: (8802) 8611056-68 support the total solid waste mana- Telefax: (8802) 8615351, 8613220 gement programme in Khulna would Total Cost Taka 3,000 E-mail: wspsa@worldbank.org be necessary. The following additional Web site: www.wsp.org each household for the waste activities are planned to begin by collection service. The fee varies December 2000. They will be funded according to the income category of by the surplus in the project budget. the household (rich, middle income and poor) but the level is decided by ! Appropriate transfer points and Other Publications in the the Waste Management Committee in secondary transportation that Khulna City Series: the respective collection blocks. The integrates well with the primary 2. 2. Pilot Project on Solid Waste fees started at a promotional Taka 2 ­ 5 collection system Management in Khulna City: per month but have now risen to Taka Community Organisation and 2 ­ 10 per month. At present, cost ! Feasibility of waste recycling and Management recovery is about 65% of the operating composting initiatives costs (including deprecation). The 3. 3. Pilot Project on Solid Waste Waste Management Committees plan ! Links with the private sector Management in Khulna City: to increase the fees to Taka 2 ­ 20 per The Role of Participatory Urban month by the end of the project period ! Initiation of hospital waste Appraisal (December 2000). This rate is management. expected to cover the total operation and maintenance costs and generate a marginal profit. Primary collection Acknowledgements: would then be financially viable Special thanks to WEDC, and in for operation by CBOs or micro- particular Jenny Appleton, for their enterprises. contribution. August 2000 The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership to help the poor gain sustained access to improved water supply and sanitation services. The Program's main funding partners are the Governments of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; the United Nations Development Programme, and The World Bank. Created by Green Design Associates e-mail: gdapress@bol.net.in Operation of the primary collection system: A rickshaw van collecting and transporting waste