THE STEPS INVOLVED IN CREATING A COMPOST PROCESSING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

——————– Asif Moinur Chowdhury

Bangladesh is facing serious environmental hazards due to inefficient garbage management and the unstructured loading of solid waste in its major urban areas. Poor management techniques, a lack of appropriate technology, and a lack of training on advanced solid waste management practices make the situation worse. One of the oldest cities in Bangladesh’s southern coastal region is the Patuakhali Municipality, which produces about 0.26 kg of garbage per person each day and has an estimated 6,742 tons of solid waste generated annually. To address the technical and governance components of solid waste management in Ward 1, Patuakhali Pourashava, this blog post provides an overview of the project approach and a practical learning session (Practical Learning Session of Community Stakeholder Group and Waste Workers on Compost Processing and Waste Management at Jainkathi Co-Compost Plant, Patuakhali).

The participants of the workshop convened to discuss the development of a comprehensive municipal solid waste management system. With 21 participants present, a mixture of stakeholders, waste workers, and the caretaker of the plant, the primary goal of the session was to move forward with the development of a step-by-step road map for creating an understanding of various systems available for collection, transportation, recycling, resource recovery, and disposals; an approach to preparing municipal solid waste management plans in the light of the potential problems and issues that may become apparent during project development; and to provide operational guidelines for efficient municipal solid waste management systems.

It is very important for communities to become knowledgeable about compost processing and waste management for the sustainability of their environment. The learning session that was conducted by technical experts and assistants on compost processing and waste management for the Jainkathi Co-Compost Plant in Patuakhali The session was attended by the project manager, Mr. Md. Firoj Shikder, and was facilitated by Mr. Asif Moinur Chowdhury, Technical Expert, and Mr. Md. Al Amin, Technical Assistant, from the Association for Community Empowerment (ACE). In this session, they discussed key issues such as health safety, waste management, solid waste treatment, rapid composting, and maintenance of the composting plant.

Are you interested in learning more about how to practically operate a co-compost plant? Mr. Asif Moinur Chowdhury recently conducted a total facilitation session to help participants understand the process. During the session, Mr. Chowdhury discussed safety issues, waste segregation, transferring and pre-treatment, composting chambers, handling and mixing, and more. Additionally, the participants were asked to explain the whole process of collecting, packaging, and marketing the compost fertilizer. After the session, the participants had a better understanding of the process and felt confident they could run the plant if given the responsibility.