DOES THIS NOT DISGUST YOU?

A Comprehensive Research on Pakistan’s Issues concerning Garbage Disposal and Government and

Social Efforts to Improve Them

COURSE OF RESEARCH

A variety of quality print and electronic sources was used to extract the material for the research.

Arham Ahmad provided with a very good newspaper article regarding our topic.

S.M. Umer Hasan found very good links regarding laws about garbage disposal in Pakistan.

M. Areeb Nafey uddin Siddiqui found very good, reliable sites about types of garbage in Pakistan and how they should be handled.

THE PROBLEM

The Pakistani Nation is, sadly, enveloped in a mixture of political, social and environmental problems. One of the country’s major problems, concerning specifically the environment, is waste management. This is portrayed very clearly in the urban, as well as rural areas, by large, unpleasing lots of accumulating, ever-increasing loads of garbage, which, due to improper ways of disposal, and lack of scientific lines, become breeding points for various disease-causing species.

TYPES OF GARBAGE IN PAKISTAN

The garbage produced in Pakistan can roughly be classified into three types:

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

Hospital Waste Persistent Organic Pollu

tants (POPs)

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE: WHAT IS IT?

Municipal Solid Waste is generally described as useless or unwanted material as a result of human or animal activity.This is most commonly solid, semi-solid or liquid waste.New technology and commercialization in rural areas have increased production there as well. Alarmingly, the per capita production of MSW in Pakistan per day is up to 0.612 kg, which increases by 2.4% annually.

BACK

ACCUMULATION OF MSW: WHY?

97% of Pakistan’s landfills’ content consists of MSW. This accumulation is due to:

No proper waste collection Dumping of waste on streets Unclassified waste: all types

of waste dumped together Uncontrolled landfill sanitary

sites Unawareness of hazards

amongst public

INHOSPITABLE HOSPITAL WASTE

Caused by careless waste disposal by hospitals and other medical institutions, this is the second major type of waste in Pakistan.Hospital Waste Management means the management of waste produced by hospitals using such techniques that will help to check the spread of diseases through it.Though medical institutes are not much responsible for release of chemicals, chemical waste also comes under this category..

BACK

IMPROPER DISPOSAL OF HOSPITAL WASTE

Is this way of disposal, by any means, correct and healthy? Won’t it encourage spread of diseases?

PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are found in very little quantities in Pakistan; yet these make up 0.1 to 0.5% of all waste produced in the country. POPs are toxic synthetic organic chemicals that are used in industry and agriculture, as well as created unintentionally through chlorine combustion processesIndustrial chemicals and other unwanted byproducts like Dioxins come under this category.These tend to accumulate in the fat layers of bodies, which makes their growth a serious environmental issue.POPs are readily spread through air and/or water, therefore, their production anywhere in the world is a serious global threat.

BACK

HOW PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS ACT

Do we think about the risks before we use the POPs?

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GARBAGE ACCUMULATION?

Neither the Government, nor the public can be held completely responsible for garbage accumulation in the country. This is evident especially in Karachi where at the biggest dumpsite of Jam Chakro (500 acres), no environmental checks exist. The site is, therefore termed by the scientists as ‘a recipe for an environmental disaster’. The reason behind this are numerous; only a few are discussed here.Out of 9,000 tonnes of garbage produced everyday, only 5,000 tonnes reaches the government-designated landfills. It is this remaining 3,000 tonnes that forms those unsightly landfills at the corners of every street.In the metropolis, Karachi, the urban landscape is dotted so frequently with the city’s landscape that more or less, they merge with the sights of the city.Lack of coordination between the government and town nazims leads to uncontrolled amounts of garbage reaching the landfills.Organic, inorganic and non-biodegradable, old building material and hazardous waster, i.e., chemical or hospital waste, all go unchecked and unclassified into the dumps. This variety of types of garbage makes it almost impossible to handle the load of accumulated garbage.

SCIENTIFIC & HEALTH HAZARDS The only considered way of disposing off garbage in Pakistan is seen

as burning. Pointing out the health hazards it poses, Dr. Nasiruddin Khan, senior faculty member of the University of Karachi (Chemistry Dept.) said that burning of garbage means release of toxic nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic chemicals and polycyclic organic matter. Moreover, he said that burning plastic also releases heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as dioxin.

No check exists on this and people exposed to these generally complain of eye and nose irritation, breathing difficulties, coughing and headaches.

Improper disposal of hospital waste contributes to spreading of dangerous diseases like Hepatitis A, B and C, chicken pox, AIDS, typhoid, etcetera.

Burning of hospital waste can cause cancer, birth defects, decreased psychomotor ability, hearing defects, cognitive defects, etcetera.

Persistent Organic Pollutions are not manageable and their disposing is highly contagious to human health.

WHAT ABOUT FUTURE?

As all sorts of waste reaches the landfills, the dangers are not restricted to just land, but to air and water as well.As solid waste is burnt, and generally does not burn well, smouldering clouds are seen which smell toxic. What left behind is dirty smelling waste-a celebration for mosquitoes, rats and flies in near future.Waste is also often thrown into the naalas. This causes high-level water pollution. Plus, as garbage is also a breeding site for bacteria, methane gas is produced due to which water is contaminated and is liable to quickly become unsafe for human and animal consumption.Over a period of time, this is expected to ruin the underground water sources as well.

A VERY DISGUSTING VIEWThese are COCKROACHES on a dustbin with rotting rubbish!

ANOTHER VERY DISGUSTING VIEWA big swarm of mosquitoes and flies partying over a big dump of uncovered garbage

EFFORTS IN THREE OTHER COUNTRIES TO REDUCE GARBAGE PROBLEMS

England:Fishing was banned at the Thames River to reduce pollution.

Fine was imposed on those who tried to litter in the river. This was the strategy later used for roads and parks as well.

GermanyThe country played its role in controlling garbage by excessive

recycling. They also introduced a “Green Dot” system, which helped them cut down the waste production up to one million tonnes.

SingaporeLast in the list is Singapore, which has made exemplary

attempts to control waste production. Campaigns like “Zero Waste Singapore” had a great impact for which is now the cleanest country of the world. Special emphasis was laid on toxic waste control which preserved the nation’s scenic beauty. New recycling strategies were developed to make garbage sustainable.

PAKISTAN’S EFFORTS TO CONTROL GARBAGE

Though laws exist, less of them are being enforced, and acted upon. Even the law-enforcing agencies are seen breaking those laws. The government is making some efforts to minimize the rate of garbage production in the country, as indicated in the National Study for Privatisation of Solid Waste Management in eight cities of Pakistan, EPMC, 1996.

Based on this study, the Government of Pakistan enacted the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA) in 1997—the most recent and updated legislation on the environment. It provides a framework for establishing federal and provincial Environmental Protection Agencies (EPAs).

A FEW LAWS CONCERNING GARBAGE

Presently, the legal rules and regulations dealing with solid waste management in Pakistan are as follows:

Section 11 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act prohibits discharge that violates National Environmental Quality Standards.

Draft Hazardous Substances Rules of 1999. Islamabad Capital Territory Bye Laws, 1968, by

Capital Development Authority Islamabad. Section 132 of Cantonment Act 1924 deals with

deposits and disposal of rubbish. Provisions contained in Local Government

Ordinance, 2001.

A RAY OF HOPE?The environmentalists should be happy now—the growth of awareness amongst youngsters of the country of all financial classes has led them to take action against garbage.

Youngsters of Lahore’s Gulberg Town themselves formed a committee they called ‘Zimmedar Shehri’ and devoted themselves to clear the town of unwanted waste wherever possible, only on Sundays. Though simple, it aims for a better environment of a country facing political instability.Another thing was seen recently in Islamabad, where the Capital Development Authority (CDA) actually fined a guy named Ahmed Ali when he was spotted throwing a disposable plate out of the window of a running car in sector F-10 on 14th October 2011.

WHAT CAN I DO?

As an individual, firstly try to minimise the amount of garbage you produce.

Try to reuse, if possible, any of the refuse. Now for the big step: before dumping, make

sure to classify the different types of garbage. Keep paper separate, plastic separate, wood separate, and so on. In this way you facilitate the landfill management to manage the landfill sites, and control the amount of garbage in the landfills.

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR WRITTEN MATTER DAWN Metro and South, 3rd October

2011 DAWN Images, 8th May 2011 http://www.wwfpak.org/

factsheets_mswf.php http://www.wwfpak.org/

factsheets_hwf.php http://www.wwfpak.org/

factsheets_popf.php http://www.environment.gov.pk/

PRO_PDF/PositionPaper/Brief-SWM-%20Pak.pdf

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR PICTURES http://www.demotix.com/photo/global-warming-could-be-changing-

climate-pakistan-episode-1207490 http://205.254.135.24/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/mswaste/msw.html. http://newshopper.sulekha.com/pakistan-daily-life_photo_1640869.htm http://domesticfuel.com/?s=Fiberight http://www.cozypad.com/the-importance-of-proper-medical-waste-

disposal/15041.html http://www.parn.org.pk/index_files/HOSPITALWASTE.html http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?

DocumentID=397&ArticleID=4486&l=en http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/88733.html http://www.grida.no/geo/geo3/english/366.htm http://ywopakistan.com/2011/08/21/future-plans/ http://bayimages.net/view-photos/cockroach-garbage-can-191.html http://society.ezinemark.com/weekly-news-in-picture-29th-november-

77367d8169de.html

A SINCERE ADVICE FROM

M. Areeb Abdun Nafey uddin Siddiqui (Leader, Compilation, ICT Management)

Syed Muhammad Umer Hasan (Research)

Arham Ahmad (Research, Time Management)

M. Sarrosh Khan (Spectator)

Above mentioned are the group members of Group A3 of class IX-V, Generation’s School (South Campus).