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Exploring the Challenge and Scope of Solid Waste Management: A

Comparative Analysis of Bangladesh and Turkey

Conference Paper · May 2016

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 Exploring the Challenge and Scope of Solid
Waste Management: A Comparative Analysis
of Bangladesh and Turkey

MD Tanvir Hasnine1, Mehmet Sinan Bilgili1, Khalid Md. Bahauddin2, Güleda

Engin1, Mahbub Alam3, Tahara Afrin4

Abstract
Solid waste is considered to be one of the most burning and serious environmental problems both in
Bangladesh and Turkey. Disposal of non-biodegradable materials in contaminated landfills is responsible
for the destruction of natural resources. Approximately 5.84 million tons of solid waste are annually
generated in the urban areas of Bangladesh. In Turkey, the annual amount of generated Municipal solid
waste (MSW) is approximately 25 million tons. Though there are some strict regulations on the
management of Solid waste in Turkey but primitive dumping methods such as open dumping and discharge
into surface water have been used in various parts of Turkey. The issue of poor solid waste management
(SWM) has become a challenge for developing countries like Bangladesh because of insufficient financial
resources, population growth, lack of awareness, high urbanization rates and improper urban planning
and old technologies. Therefore, an effective solid waste management is required to solve these problems.
The study was conducted to explore the present status of solid waste in Bangladesh and Turkey, assess their
management systems and finding the challenges and limitations. Even though the present solid waste
management (SWM) scenario is far from satisfactory, several outcomes and assessments in the study
revealed that there are adequate opportunities to handle and improve the situation. The study recommends
that an effective solid waste management can be ensured by developing an integrated solid waste
management practices and also by a strong public–private partnership, where Partnership emerged as an
instrument for better service delivery.

Keywords: Solid waste, Environmental problems, Integrated Solid Waste management, Developing
countries, Public-private partnership

1. INTRODUCTION
Waste management is a complex and multidisciplinary problem. The proper management of solid waste is one
of the key challenges of modern life mainly due to the varying perception of waste. High population growth,
rapid extraction of natural resources and lack of effective waste treatment methods are the main causes of
current waste related problems. According to world Bank research, it is estimated that world cities generate 1.3
billion tons of solid waste per year and by 2025 it is projected to closely double [1].
In Bangladesh and Turkey solid waste is a big environmental and social problem. As Bangladesh is an over

1
Corresponding author: Yildiz Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, 34220, Esenler/Istanbul,
Turkey tanvirhasnine350@gmail.com
2
International Society for Development and Sustainability, Japan.
3
Istanbul Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, 3469, Maslak/Istanbul, Turkey.
4
Jahangirnagar University, Environmental Sciences Department, Dhaka, 1342, Bangladesh

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EurAsia Waste Management Symposium, 2-4 May 2016, YTU 2010 Congress Center, İstanbul/Türkiye
populated country, a great amount of solid waste is generated every year mainly in the urban areas.
Unfortunately solid waste management is being worsened day by day due to the inadequate resources. In
Bangladesh, it is projected that the amount of waste will grow up to 47,000tons/ tons/day and close to 17.16
million tons per year by 2025, due to growth both in population and the increase in per capita waste generation.
On the other hand, as an economically developing country, Turkey has very well controlled solid waste
management applications designed on modern facilities, besides over 2,000 scattered open dump areas in the
country. Approximately 25 million ton of MSW are generated annually in Turkey. About 77% of the population
in Turkey gets MSW services. The major constituents of municipal solid waste are organic in nature and
approximately a quarter of municipal solid waste is recyclable. Out of all the waste that is produced each year,
hardly one-quarter is currently recycled [2]. Enormous amount of uncollected waste, a high percentage of which
is organic, makes nuisance and pollutes the local environment rapidly. Solid waste disposal poses a greater
problem because it leads to land pollution if openly discarded, water pollution if dumped in low lands and air
pollution if burnt. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh is facing serious environmental deprivation and public-
health risk due to uncollected disposal of waste on streets and other public areas, blocked drainage system by
extensively dumped wastes and by contamination of water resources near uncontrolled dumping sites. It is
occur due to lack of government initiatives, financial resource limittion and lack of awareness of people. But
in cities in Turkey, community initiatives in solid waste management is supported by the municipality. They
guide their activities according to the policies and principles stated by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry
(MEF). Some private companies are responsible for collecting, transporting and for the sorting of separately
collected packaging waste. After all of this things, packaging waste is levelled for recycling industry. The main
aim of this paper is to the situation analysis of solid waste management both in Bangldesh and Turkey and also
set an integrated solid waste management system for them. As Bangladesh is an Asiatic country and Turkey is
the part of Europe and Asia we can easily compare the management system gap between Asia and Europe. This
study is also important as because when the integrated solid waste management will be successful clean and
sustainable environment will be ensured.

2. SITUATION OF SOLID WASTE IN BANGLADESH AND TURKEY

2.1. Situation of Solid Waste in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, being a developing country, is predominantly a rural country. In 1951, the percentage of urban
population was only 4.33% of the total population. Since then the rising trend has continued reaching around
24% by the year 2001 [3]. The urban area of Bangladesh generates approximately 16,015 tons of waste per day,
which adds up to over 5.84 million tons annually. Based on the present total urban population, per capita waste
generation rate is found at 0.41 kg/capita/day in urban area of Bangladesh [4].
The composition and resulting character of municipal solid waste are always dependent on the source of its
generation. In urban areas of Bangladesh solid waste has a very high organic content that varies from 70- 85%
[3]. Composition of solid waste depends upon a number of factors, such as food habit, cultural tradition, socio-
economic and climatic condition. Physical composition of solid waste from different urban areas of Bangladesh
is given in Figure 1 shows the average proportion of different components in urban solid waste of Bangladesh.

Figure 1. Average physical composition of urban solid waste in Bangladesh [3]

Among different components the total percentage of compostable (including food, vegetable, rags, jute, wood,
grass, leaves etc.) waste was found to be comparatively higher.
2
Exploring the Challenge and Scope of Solid Waste Management: A Comparative Analysis of Bangladesh and
Turkey.
MD Tanvir Hasnine1, Mehmet Sinan Bilgili1, Khalid Md. Bahauddin2, Güleda Engin1, Mahbub Alam3, Tahara
Afrin4
2.2. Situation of Solid Waste in Turkey
In Turkey, an economically developing country, industrialization and increased standards of living have
contributed to an increasing amount of solid waste and its consequent disposal problems. Turkey generates
28,858,880 tons of solid municipal waste per year; the annual amount of waste generated per capita amounts
to 390 kilograms [5].
Approximately 68 million people live in Turkey, with quite different socioeconomic and demographic
characteristics and dietary habits [6].

Figure 2. Geographical position of Bangladesh and Turkey in World Map

Urbanization in Turkey is a response to a rapid population increase and migration from rural areas to cities.
The quantities of solid waste generated by various population groups in Turkey are given in Table 1. The rate
of waste generation is highly influenced by the population of the community. The rate of waste generation in
the areas with the lowest population is 1.69 kg/cap/day, while in the areas with the highest population it is 1.25
kg/cap/day. The typical composition of municipal solid waste in Turkey is shown in Table 2. As can be seen,
organic waste is the main component of MSW. Between 7% and 24% of the material is denoted as “other”,
which mainly includes construction and demolition debris, coal ash, and hazardous waste.

Table 1. MSW generation based on population of communities in Turkey [6]

Population groups Waste generation
(kg/cap/day) (tons/yr) (%)
<100,000 1.69 67,657 0.27
100,000–500,000 1.41 3,360,938 13.66
500,000–1,000,000 1.36 5,659,519 23.00
1,000,000–2,000,000 1.21 5,962,242 24.23
1.25 9,558,834 38.84
1.1. >2,000,000

Table 2 Composition of MSW in Turkey [6]

Components Range (%) in weight

Organics 40–65
Paper/cardboard 7–18
Plastics 5–14
Metal 1–6
Glass 2–6
Others 7–24

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EurAsia Waste Management Symposium, 2-4 May 2016, YTU 2010 Congress Center, İstanbul/Türkiye

3. PROJECTION OF FUTURE SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN BANGLADESH AND

TURKEY

3.1. Projection of Future Solid Waste Generation in Bangladesh

To make predictions about future waste generation from estimates of population requires prediction of future
per capita waste generation. Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS) used a simple procedure for
predicting future solid waste generation. The intercensal annual compound growth rate of population, on the
basis of the 1981 and 1991 census data, was estimated to be 2.74%. Assuming an annual GAP (Gross Annual
Product) growth rate of 4%, and that 70% of the additional income going into consumption, waste generation
growth factor based on GAP growth was taken as 2.8%. Based on this growth rate and a 1998 per capita
generation of 0.52 kg/capita/day, Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (1998) predicted waste generations
for the future years up to 2021 (Figure 3). Using the same procedure as followed by BCAS (1998), another
estimate for future waste generation is made based on the population of 1991 (census) and population of 1999
(DCC 1999). The estimated population growth rate is 7.79%. Assuming the same waste generation growth
factor of 2.8%, an estimate of waste generation for future years is provided.

Figure 3. Projection of future solid waste generation by BCAS [7]

Comparing above two estimates it is observed that according to the predictions of Bangladesh Center for
Advanced Studies (1998) the generation of solid waste would be around 8,478 tons/day by the year 2020
whereas the second estimate predicts that it will reach over 30,195 tons/day by 2020 [7].

3.2. Projection of Future Solid Waste Generation in Turkey

It is found from different studies that the municipal solid waste generation is about 25 milions tons/year in
Turkey. Though there is no studies about the actual prediction of future solid waste generation in Turkey.
However, on the basis of population growth rate, waste generation rate, waste reduction policy and milesonte
(reduction of decomposable solid waste at 35% of total decomposable solid waste within 2025), it can be
predicted that the solid waste generation will reach over 35-40 million tons/year by 2025.
4. EXISTING SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN BANGLADESH AND
TURKEY

4.1. Solid Waste Management Practices in Bangladesh

By legal definition, municipal solid waste includes all the waste arising from human activities that are normally
solid and that are discarded as useless or unwanted. Municipal solid waste generally consists of waste generated
from residential to commercial areas, industries, parks, and streets [8]. In Bangladesh waste management
practice occur in two ways and they are primary and secondary waste collection system.

4
Exploring the Challenge and Scope of Solid Waste Management: A Comparative Analysis of Bangladesh and
Turkey.
MD Tanvir Hasnine1, Mehmet Sinan Bilgili1, Khalid Md. Bahauddin2, Güleda Engin1, Mahbub Alam3, Tahara
Afrin4
4.1.1. Primary Collection

In primary waste collection system, people are responsible for bringing their waste to dustbins/containers. NGO
/private sector provide primary collection services to collect waste door-to-door and transport the waste to
dustbins/containers, or sometimes to unfilled lands by rickshaw vans. In the capital city of Bangladesh
conservancy is responsible for cleaning the roads and drains. According to City corporation ordinance, CC is
allowed to provide dustbins at suitable places. Both movable and fixed bins are used for collecting waste. The
movable bins are flexible in transportation but lacking in durability, while the fixed bins are more durable but
their positions cannot be changed once they have constructed. Due to high population growth, recently door to
door waste collection activities are prevailing in Bangladesh by various local civil societies. So, In the word
level of a municipality, services full coverage by few NGOs, partial coverage by local organizations, and
informal door to door collection by CC cleaners. This door to door collection activities regulated under the
supervision of the respective ward councilor. Ward councilor play important roles in mediation and
coordination among different organizations.

4.1.2. Secondary Collection

City Corporation is responsible for secondary waste collection to remove waste from its dustbins, and transport
the waste to final disposal sites. City corporations fund sources come from household tax, rents from markets,
shops and establishments, fees from licenses, tolls from different temporary public places. As the corporation’s
own fund is not enough, in every year almost more than 50% fund comes from government treasury in the form
of total allocation. On the other hand, Conservancy department is the core organization for solid waste
management and is in charge of street and drain cleaning, carrying street and drain waste to dustbins/containers,
and loading and unloading of waste to and from truck at places of dustbins/containers and disposal sites.
Transport department comprises two parts: one for operation of vehicles of CC and the other for management
of bus and truck terminals. Engineering department is involved in solid waste management for repair of
transport vehicles, while mechanical division 1 is in charge of repair of transportation vehicles, while
mechanical division 2 is undertaking repair of heavy equipment operating disposal sites. Store and purchase
department procures conservancy appliances, such as brooms and baskets, at the demand of the conservancy
department. Some private enterprises are responsible for the collection and transport of solid waste and for the
sorting of separately collected packaging waste. After sorting, the packaging waste is directed towards the
recycling industry.

4.2. Environment Conservation Act and Rules

Environmental Conservation Act of 1995 and Environmental Conservation Rules of 1997 require the person,
who proposes or undertakes every industrial unit or project, to acquire Environmental Clearance Certificate
(ECC, Section 12 of the Act). There is little sense of compliance in Dhaka city Cooperation with the Act and
Rules. Most of the staff appears not to be aware of these provisions [4].

4.2.1. Preservation Act

For the requirement solid waste management Preservation Act of 2000, requires prior consent of the
Government for changing the structure of specific lands such as open place, playing field or natural reservoir
of water by filling land, building construction and any other construction that alter the original Master Plan of
RAJUK [4].

4.3. Solid Waste Management Practices in Turkey

In 1991, the Solid Waste Control Regulation came into force in order to manage solid waste in Turkey. The
regulation played a fundamental role in solid waste collection, storage, transport, and disposal. The regulation
also focuses on the minimization of hazardous waste and encouragement of recycling. In cities in Turkey,
community initiatives in solid waste management are currently being supported by the municipal authorities,
who guide their activities according to the legislation and policies dictated by the Ministry of Environment and
Forestry (MEF). The framework of responsibility and management of MSW in Turkey is shown in Fig. 1. MSW
comes from commercial services, industries, healthcare facilities, and citizens in Turkey.

5
EurAsia Waste Management Symposium, 2-4 May 2016, YTU 2010 Congress Center, İstanbul/Türkiye

Figure 4: Framework of responsibility and Management of MSW in Turkey [6]

4.3.1. Collection, Transport and Disposal of MSW in Turkey

There are 3225 municipalities in Turkey, and 16 of them are metropolitan municipalities. A total of 3028
municipalities have solid waste management services. The percentage of municipalities collecting and
transporting solid waste in the municipalities is 95%. In Turkey, the collection and transportation components
of MSW management are generally well organized. There are two types of collection systems in the municipal
areas of Turkey. The first collection system, which is operated in the central parts of the cities and large towns,
is curbside pickup. In this collection system, a solid waste collection vehicle stops at each building to pick up
the refuse, either in plastic bags or in kitchen bins. Where this system is operated, the waste is collected daily
or twice a day. The second collection system, which is commonly practised in small settlements and the poorly
developed peripheral parts of urban areas, is the community bin system. The bins are generally emptied or
replaced in some municipalities two or three times a week. Medical waste from healthcare establishments to
other hazardous wastes are generally put into the community bins. A small amount of medical waste is disposed
by burning in Turkey. The infectious solid waste, together with MSW, is generally discharged to dumping areas
of municipalities. Municipalities use their own vehicles for solid waste collection and transportation. Both the
collection and transportation services are performed by the same vehicles. Generally, transfer models are not
used in Turkey. The collection and transportation vehicles are generally trucks with capacities of 3.5–7ton.
Tractors are also used in many areas in large cities [6].

Discharge to surface
water
Sanitary Landfilling 0.62%
27.99%
Composting
Open Dumping 1.40%
65.63% Open incineration
0.41%
Land filing
1.70%

others
2.25%
Sanitary Landfilling Composting Open incineration
Discharge to surface water Land filing others
Open Dumping

Figure 5: MSW disposal method in Turkey [6]

6
Exploring the Challenge and Scope of Solid Waste Management: A Comparative Analysis of Bangladesh and
Turkey.
MD Tanvir Hasnine1, Mehmet Sinan Bilgili1, Khalid Md. Bahauddin2, Güleda Engin1, Mahbub Alam3, Tahara
Afrin4

5. CHALLENGES OF EFFECTIVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

In case of waste management, though there are lots of similarities between Bangladesh and Turrkey but both
of the countries are still facing challenges to do it propely. In both country the annual waste generation increases
in proportion to the rise in the population and urbanization, and issues related to disposal have become
challenging as more land is needed for the ultimate disposal of solid waste. The Solid Waste Control Regulation
is applied properly in the stages of collection and transportation, but the main problem is the preparation of
sanitary landfills and rehabilitation of open dumps because of insufficient financing. Composting is an excellent
method of recycling biodegradable waste. However, many composting plants have failed because not enough
attention was given to the quality of the product and to marketing activities. Although various forms of
incineration are widely used for waste management, there has been increased public debate in the last several
decades over the expected benefits and the potential risk to human health that might result from the emission
of pollutants generated by the incineration process [9]. Currently, electricity production from waste incineration
is rather low in Turkey. This is because several of incineration plants lack the capacity to produce electricity.
A MSW decision–support system based on integrated solid waste management should be developed for cities
in Turkey and Bangladesh.
6. PROPOSING INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT (ISWM) FOR
BANGLADESH AND TURKEY
The conventional waste collection and disposal system both in Bangladesh and Turkey consists of garbage
trucks, bins and open dumping. However, the trend for disposal of MSW is towards implementing waste
diversion and creating an integrated MSW management system. An integrated system requires many
management options, such as source reduction, curbside recycling, material recovery, waste-to-energy, sanitary
landfilling, and composting. Physical and chemical data can be analyzed to determine the physical make-up
and the chemical content of the MSW stream sequentially, providing important information for MSW
management systems. Although the physical composition analysis may directly support the assessment of
material recovery, curbside recycling, and composting, the energy content may greatly support the investigation
of the thermal treatment potential. Improving the standard of management and operation of some existing
facilities at much lower cost may offer considerable improvement in environmental performance. Additionally,
setting out a program of planned closure and remediation of the most polluted dumpsites will constitute an early
step in the development of the national waste strategy [10]. Co-disposal of MSW with hazardous medical and
industrial wastes creates a great anxiety for public health. From this point of view, the implementation of solid
waste management strategies will reduce the risk of environmental pollution. In Turkey and Bangladesh, a
negligible amount of MSW is currently being recycled. Poorly organized collection systems for recoverable
wastes, lack of funding, and low tendency of residents to segregate waste are factors affecting the efficiency of
recovery. Municipalities are responsible for ensuring that the waste generated by their residents and
establishments is collected and properly managed. The amount of funds available from municipal budgets for
MSW improvements should be increased.
Therefore, for the development of a sustainable waste management service, ISWM is very important and from
the above discussion it can be said that the aspects that are involved in the management of the waste would be:
1. Economic aspects can be considered into account to enable a sustainable MSWM system which does not
breakdown due to the lack of funds and also not be an economic burden to the society. It should apply the
“Polluter Pays Principle” for the waste producers; and provide technical and financial assistance for the private
and community participation.
2. Environmental aspects should consider the technical aspects with sufficient storage, transport, and disposal
facilities to ensure that a negative impact to the environment is avoided by way of creating nuisance, emission
of landfill gases and discharge of leachate causing air, water and soil pollution in the long run.
3. Social aspects make people aware of waste reduction, reuse and recycle benefits as well as environmental
health benefits of cleanliness and impacts arising out of lack of MSWM system. Active involvement of the
government and private organizations and NGOs would pave way in this sphere.
4. Institutional arrangements would call for the administrative and legal setup with law enforcement machinery
for the implementation of the program to ensure effectiveness. The government should strengthen the capacity
of the SWM bodies with education, training and infrastructural support.

7
 EurAsia Waste Management Symposium, 2-4 May 2016, YTU 2010 Congress Center, İstanbul/Türkiye

7. CONCLUSION
Bangladesh is a small, being developing country with a significant number of population. Turkey is an
economically developing and its geographical location makes it a country of significant. Both Bangladesh and
Turkey face an incredible environmental hazard and social problem due to the increase of solid wastes. The
study was conducted to explore the present status of solid waste in Bangladesh and Turkey, assess their
management systems and finding the challenges and limitations. Bangladesh and Turkey was selected for this
comparative study because of economical and geographical condition of these two countries. It is predicted that
the generation of solid waste will reach close to 17 million tons per year by 2025 in Bangladesh whereas the
generation of solid waste will reach over 35-40 million tons per year by 2025 in Turkey. The issue of poor solid
waste management (SWM) has become a challenge because there is a lack of organization and planning in
MSW management due to insufficient information about regulations and also for financial restrictions. In the
long term, the construction of new sanitary landfill areas, composting, and incineration facilities could be
planned. Public participation, awareness and public private partnerships are also important issues in achieving
the goals of the suggested integrated solid management system.

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BIOGRAPHY
MD Tanvir Hasnine a graduate student and also works as a project assistant at Yildiz Technical
University, Environmental Engineering department.
Tanvir received his B.Sc and M.S in Environmental sciences from Jahangirnagar University,
Bangladesh. in 2011 and 2012 respectively. He is doing his 2nd M.Sc in Environmental Engineering
at Yildiz Technical University.

He currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey and may be contacted at tanvirhasnine350@gmail.com

Or f0214014@std.yildiz.edu.tr

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