Does This Not Disgust you?

A Comprehensive Research on Pakistans Issues concerning Garbage Disposal and

Government and Social Efforts to Improve Them in Islamabad.

The Problem
The Pakistani Nation is, sadly, enveloped in a mixture of political,
social and environmental problems. One of the countrys 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
Pollutants (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.


Accumulation of MSW: Why?
97% of Pakistans 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
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 processes
Industrial 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.

Persistent organic pollutants
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 tones reaches the government-designated landfills. It is
this remaining 3,000 tones that forms those unsightly landfills at the corners of every street.
In the metropolis, Karachi, the urban landscape is dotted so frequently with the citys 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 view
These are COCKROACHES on a dustbin
with rotting rubbish!
Another very disgusting view
A 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.

Germany
The 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.

Singapore
Last 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 nations scenic beauty. New recycling strategies were developed to
make garbage sustainable.


Pakistans 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 1997the
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 By 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 nowthe growth of awareness amongst
youngsters of the country of all financial classes has led them to take action against
garbage.

Youngsters of Lahores 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
14
th
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.