Increasing population and insufficient basic facilities, of proper waste collection and disposal system have posed serious health hazards in most parts of the country. The solid waste management remained a neglected area and partially collected waste in the environs of cities, towns and villages have gradually turned life miserable in these localities.
Due to lack of a proper strategy, policy guidelines or legal framework the situation kept worsening as the governments in developing countries like Pakistan remained engaged in fighting out poverty, unemployment and other social sector problems.
While billion of rupees were being spent to cure diseases and epidemics breaking out due to poor waste management, dumping sites close to populated areas continued causing hazards.
"Solid waste management has emerged the biggest challenge as there is no uniform policy or guidelines for collection and proper waste disposal," said Irfan Alrai, Programme Manager "Pollution Control" of the NEAR-Support Programme under Environment Ministry.
"Still, we have not clarified or defined the basic mechanism for waste disposal and all departments were following a decades old haphazard system of waste collection and disposal," he said.
In an estimated the waste production at 0.5 kg per capita daily as there was no weighing system in the country as well as no regular surveys to estimate the waste volume.
Hospital and toxic industrial waste also mix with routine solid waste and pose serious health hazards.
"Just 15 percent hospital and industrial waste cars make toxic even a huge dumped of house waste," Irfan said. "And the 'leachate' secreting-from these dumping sites contaminates the ground water to alarming level."
Previous surveys and studies show that only 40 to 60 percent solid waste is collected regularly, except CDA that claim to collect more than 90 percent waste while remaining 50 percent remains there making streets mini dumps.
Primitive disposal mechanisms like combustion and burning the waste generate smoke and POPs while flies and mosquitoes brooding on these dumps were causing serious health hazards.
A study conducted by Ministry of Environment in 1996 in eight cities revealed the total waste generated from all the sources in these cities was 10,414.3 tons daily (3,601,221 tons annually.
Another study related to National Conservation Strategy (NCS 1992), revealed that solid waste volume was calculated at 47,290 tons daily (17.5 million tons annually).
Keeping in view the population growth during last 12 years, the figures were updated in 2004, showing the solid waste volume at 54,888 tons daily (20.034 million tons annually).
As many as 10.624 million tons waste is produced at rural level across the country, 8.826 million tons in cities and 583,635 tons is the total hazardous waste.
Out of 8.826 million tons waste generated in urban areas, 3.564 million tons is produced from just eight cities (Karachi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Quetta, Bannu and Sibi) with Karachi alone producing 2.420 million tons waste annually.
Solid waste generation figures per capita per day vary from 0.283 kg in rural areas to 0.613 kg in cities like Karachi and if it calculated at 0.4 to 0.5 kg per capita per day, anybody can know how much waste a country of 150 million people be generating daily.
City governments and municipalities, despite all efforts, neither could collect all the waste nor be able to treat it. And for villagers, any such system of gradation, collection and disposal of waste was just a dream.
"We collect it from homes and dump outside the village or in fields. And when it rains in Monsoon, it is even difficult to walk in our streets," said a villager, Abdul Hakeem.
"We even do not know that this waste can be treated and reused. What we know is to carry on our cart and throw in the surroundings," he said.
These villagers do not know how harmful it was to dump waste close to their residences. This practice continued contaminating water table and now one can find hepatitis, gastro-enteritis and even cancer patients in these close to nature localities.
Most of colonies and towns are ill-planned and lack sewerage and waste disposal system. Open drains pass in front of the homes and people have to inhale polluted air.
Uncollected waste very often chokes sewerage system and open nullahs. Dirty and toxic water overflows the borders of nullahs to streets making lives of people miserable.
Now viewing all this in population perspective. Country's population according to 1998 survey was 132.352 million and according to estimated data released by the government on World Population Day, it will increase to 170.516 million in 2011 and 198.192 million in 2021.
Solid waste situation can be clearly imagined in 2021 when 45 million more people will be added to the existing population.
"This is really alarming and thought provoking," said former Tahsil Nazim Rawalpindi, Hamid Nawaz Raja.
"How much waste a municipality can collect within available resources as far as mechanism is not developed and more resources are provided," he said.
He demanded a policy at national level with main focus on collection, disposal and treatment of the waste.
Either, it is due to population, insufficient resources or ill planned disposal mechanism, the problem is there. Situation keeps worsening and calls upon all stakeholders to join hands to fight this hazard.
Let this situation not continue till our towns and cities start looking like dumps and life becomes more miserable.
This is high time for all the stakeholders to join hands and address this problem for a better future.
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