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

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

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

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 publichealth 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,
socioeconomic 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.

4.1.1. Primary Collection

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

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.

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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. 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

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

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