WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COMPOST PROCESSING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT TRAINING

—————- Asif Moinur Chowdhury

Patuakhali Municipality is one of the oldest cities in Bangladesh’s southern coastal region and provides a unique example of an urban area facing the challenges of solid waste management. As a result of the city’s dense population and the different types of waste being produced (food waste, plastic, paper, tin cans, steel, wood trimmings, medical waste, etc.), the streets of Patuakhali are often covered in trash. This has had a severe impact on local public health as well as the environment. The total amount of solid waste generated in the Patuakhali municipal area is estimated to be 18.47 tons per day, or 6,742 tons yearly, in 2015. To address this issue, a special training session has been organized to develop a step-by-step road map for creating a competent municipal solid waste management system in urban areas. This post will focus on the purpose of this training session, the challenges it is facing, and the potential solutions.

The Association for Community Empowerment (ACE) held a workshop on compost processing and waste management at the Jainkathi Co-Compost Plant in Patuakhali, Bangladesh. The workshop was attended by 26 participants, nine of whom were female, while the remaining participants were men. Among the participants, 8 were from the community stakeholder group, 5 were potential waste workers provided by the Patuakhali Municipality, 4 were waste workers from the plant, and one was a caretaker of the plant. The workshop was inaugurated and chaired by Dr. Ahmed Parvez, Professor, Patuakhali Science and Technology University. The project manager, Mr. Md. Firoj Shikder, delivered the welcome speech. Mr. Md. Kamal Hossain, Finance Officer, CODEC Office, Patuakhali, also contributed his thoughts to the meeting. The whole session was conducted by Mr. Asif Moinur Chowdhury, Technical Expert, ACE, and Mr. Md. Al Amin, Technical Assistant, ACE, was also present to help facilitate the learning session.

The inauguration of the composting plant in the municipality was an exciting event, attended by a number of key figures in the waste management industry. Mr. Firoz, Dr. Parvez, and Mr. Kamal from CODEC all had the chance to address the audience, and Mr. Asif Moinur Chowdhury was the facilitator during the training session. From safety and waste segregation to the maturation of compost fertilizer and its packaging and marketing, the participants were able to understand and apply the skills required to run the plant.