See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/360215558

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH 1

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH

Article in Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management · April 2022

CITATIONS READS

3 236

3 authors, including:

S M Moniruzzaman Quazi Hamidul Bari

Khulna University of Engineering and Technology Khulna University of Engineering and Technology
33 PUBLICATIONS 128 CITATIONS 66 PUBLICATIONS 560 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

OPTIMIZATION MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE COLLECTION ROUTES FOR MINIMUM FUEL CONSUMPTION IN KHULNA CITY View project

Recycling and Reusing View project

All content following this page was uploaded by S M Moniruzzaman on 27 April 2022.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE
IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH

S.M. Moniruzzaman1, Q.H. Bari2 and T. Fukuhara3

1
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna-9203
BANGLADESH
Email: monir92us@yahoo.com
2
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Khulna-9203
BANGLADESH
Email: qhbari@yahoo.com
3
Professor, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
University of Fukui, 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui 910-8507
JAPAN

ABSTRACT

A solid waste recycling approach is a part of the sustainable and effective waste manage-
ment system for most of the cities in the world. Although the recycling part of waste manage-
ment has been ignored by the local authorities, many individual waste collectors and dealers
have been performing recycling activity as a source of income for a long time in Bangladesh. In
this paper, a traditional recycling practice of solid waste was investigated and analyzed in the
Khulna city of Bangladesh. A complete hierarchy from waste collectors to recycling industries in
the private sector was identified. The study revealed that 7.2 % (37.23 tons/day) of the total
generated waste or 53.2 % of the recyclable solid waste (RSW) was recycled daily in Khulna.
The private sector was found to deal only with RSW. RSW collected by the private sector in-
cluded paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, iron, tin, bones and tyres. Except for bones, paper, iron,
plastic and tyres all other retrieved materials were transported to industries located in Dhaka,
the capital city of Bangladesh as raw materials for new products. Three models are proposed to
evaluate the possibility of organizing the unorganized waste recycling practice. The third model
seems to be feasible both economically and socially.

Keywords: Recyclable solid waste; Recycling; Waste collectors; Recycling dealers; Recycling
industries; Private sector

INTRODUCTION problem and a big challenge in most of the urban centers,

particularly in the rapidly growing cities of developing coun-
Solid waste is unwanted matter coming from the produc- tries as solid waste generation is now increasing due to rapid
tion and consumption of materials by human and animal ac- urbanization, industrialization and population growth. Munic-
tivities. Management of solid waste has become a major ipal solid waste (MSW) recycling has found to be a sustaina-

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH 1

ble and acceptable approach towards solid waste manage-
ment. Recycling is the process through which solid waste can
be used again. It is the reprocessing of waste, either into the
same material or a different material. It is beneficial from
environmental, economic and social points of view. The
MSW recycling reduces environmental damage and is an
import-substitution economic activity which also saves ener-
gy, conserves resources and saves waste collection and dis-
posal costs (Kaseva and Gupta 1996). Recycling of MSW is
now recognized as the most environmentally sound strategy
by following only a preventive strategy of source reduction
and reuse (EPA, 2004). According to Diamadopoulos et al.,
(1995), if solid wastes are not recycled, the space in landfills
will be exhausted very quickly and necessitate the construc-
tion of new ones. Developed countries like the USA, recover
as much as 30% of the total solid waste (EPA, 2004). There
are several advantages to solid waste recycling:
• Reduction of littering
• Prolonging the life span of local landfill sites by re-
ducing amount of waste
• Reduction of the cost of solid waste management
• Savings in energy in terms of electricity and fuel
• Reducing import of new material
• Generation of employment
• Reduction in health care costs for scavengers
Bangladesh is generally faced with the rapid deteriora-
tion of environmental and sanitation conditions due to the
conventional system of collection, transportation and the
crude dumping of MSW. Therefore, urban solid waste man-
agement has become a major concern for cities and towns in
the country. In the course of achieving proper solid waste
management, a lot of effort in developing countries especially
in Bangladesh has focused on waste collection and disposal
only. However, the recycling activities have been going on
traditionally by the private sector in Bangladesh from times
immemorial. The private sector is characterized by a small-
scale, labor–intensive, unregulated and disorganized system
for services. The private sector generally cannot get any spe-
cial support from the government for their activities. The
traditional recycling of solid waste has been carried out not
designating recyclables as waste but as resource and may
provide positive impact. With some exceptions, recycling
activities take place in a polluting and unhealthy environ-
ment. There have been no scientific publications published so
far. It is worthwhile to analyze the traditional recycling pat-
tern existing in the country. It is expected from this research
that the scenarios in Khulna city can serve as an example in
explaining the traditional recycling patterns of Bangladesh.
Therefore the aim of this paper is to investigate and analyze
the potential of traditional recycling of solid waste in Khulna.
The broad objective of the study is to propose a model to
evaluate the possibility of organizing the unorganized waste
recycling process. The paper is, however, more focused on
the following objectives:
1. To get a clear scenario of the solid waste recycling prac-
tices of Khulna city in Bangladesh through field surveys,
visits and direct communication.
2. To determine the quantity of recycled waste and the im-
2 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
pact of recycling on the economy.
3. To propose a model to evaluate the possibility of orga-
nizing the unorganized waste recycling practices thereby
increasing the efficiency of the present recycling process.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SCENARIO
IN KHULNA
The total amount of solid waste generation in Khulna city
is 520 tons/day (Waste Safe, 2005). The Khulna City Corpo-
ration (KCC) is responsible for the waste management in
Khulna. The waste management performed by KCC includes
only the collection and dumping of unsorted waste into a final
disposal site. There are approximately 1200 garbage collec-
tion containers (masonry bins), known as dustbins in Bangla-
desh, located on roadsides throughout the city. Households
are expected to dispose of their waste in these dustbins. The
KCC staff does not collect waste from houses except in two
wards (administrative areas). The collection of waste from
sources to dustbins is done mainly by householders and some
Non Government Organizations (NGOs). KCC staffs collect
solid waste from dustbins and carry these wastes to secondary
disposal sites (SDS) by using non-motorized vans. There are
sixty SDS in Khulna. KCC authorities have placed steel con-
tainers and permanent concrete bins at these secondary sites.
KCC staff collects the waste from the SDSs and transports it
by truck to the final disposal site in Rajbandha, about 7 Km
away from the main city. In Khulna city, a significant portion
of population does not have access to these waste collection
services. Only a fraction of the generated waste is actually
collected due to lack of funds. Waste is frequently disposed
in open drains, free land and around the waste bins (dustbins
and SDSs). However the KCC staff picks up only the waste
from the roadside bins. Several studies were done for estimat-
ing the waste composition of Khulna city. The percentages of
different types of solid waste are shown in Table1. From the
field survey, it was found that organic waste (mainly food
and vegetables) has no significant selling value to people
involved in the recycling trade. In Khulna city, the quantity of
recyclable solid waste (RSW) is 70 tons/day (Moniruzzaman,
2007). The existence of RSW, mainly paper, plastic, metal,
bone and glass, has opened quite an extensive potential for
use by various groups of the community.
THE SELECTION OF STUDY AREA AND
SURVEY PROCESS
Khulna, the third largest city of Bangladesh, is located in
the south-western part of the country. It is situated below the
tropic of cancer, around the intersection of latitude 22.49º
North and longitude 89.34º East (KCC, 2005). The popula-
tion of Khulna city is 1.5 million (KCC, 2005). The area of
Khulna city is 47 square km and it is divided into 31 wards as
shown in Figure 1. In order to a get a clear picture of the solid
waste recycling activities, reconnaissance surveys were done
all over Khulna city in this study. From the survey, it was
VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
 TABLE 1
Physical composition of solid waste of Khulna city

Composition Wet Weight (%)

Food and vegetable waste 78.90%

Paper & paper products 9.50%

polythene & plastic 3.10%

Textile & woods 1.30%

Metal components 1.10%

Glass &ceramics 0.50%

Rubber & leathers 0.50%

Brick, concrete &stones 0.10%

Dust ,ashes 3.70%

Others 1.20%

Source: Waste Safe (2005)

FIGURE 1
The Wards in Khulna City

found that recycling dealers or industries were available only were going on were selected for the study. Brief descriptions
in some areas, namely Shiromoni, Fulbarigate, Daulatpur, of the study areas are given in Table 2.
Khalishpur, Shekhpara, Sonadanga, Gollamari and Lobon-
chora. Therefore all those areas where recycling activities

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH 3

 TABLE 2
A description of different study areas

Location and Ward Number Characteristics of the Ward Number of Households Population Survey of Recycling Con-
cerns

Fulbarigate Mainly low income households and 681 3,344 Recycling dealers & waste
some agricultural land collectors
2

Dawlatpur Located in city periphery. Mainly pre 963 4,728 Collectors, recycling dealers
urban but some agricultural land. &industry
6

Khalishpur Industrial area located along the river. 2,961 23,924 Recycling dealers, collectors
many factory workers live here and &industry
there are a few slums
9 & 12

Sonadanga Planned housing in built up area with 1,334 8,416 Recycling dealers & industry
higher income households
17

Shekhpara It is mainly a recyclable waste market 1,077 5,708 Recycling dealers, waste
area collectors & industry
20

Gollahmari Central area. Traditionally middle class 2,377 12,606 Recycling dealers
and educated professionals live here
24

Lobanchora Mainly low income 2,998 14,721 Recycling Industry

31 Households with industries

Shiromoni & Other places - - - Recycling industry, dealers

and collectors
-

A different set of questionnaires was designed for deal-
ers, the employees of recycling industries, and waste collec-
tors to obtain information about the ongoing waste recycling
system. The surveys were done for two years at a regular
interval of every three months. Sixty waste collectors of dif-
ferent ages and sexes were selected from all over the study
area to take the interview. The different types of waste col-
lected in one day by each of them were weighed once every
three months. The maximum collection capacity for one day
was weighed and the average amount over 2 years was calcu-
lated. Information about their number, leaving place, mode of
transportation, working conditions was also obtained from the
questionnaire survey.
The number of dealers in the area was determined by a
direct counting of the field surveys that were distributed. All
the dealers were surveyed in this study and most of them par-
ticipated in the interview. The quantity of RSW collection,
the buying and selling prices were collected from the record
book of each dealer once every three months. The informa-
tion about the source of their collection, selling place, the
numbers of employees etc. were also obtained from the ques-
tionnaire survey. Finally, the average daily collection and
profits were calculated.
The study used surveys about the employees working in
the recycling industry in order to get information concerning
problems, prospects, patterns and the quantity of recycling in
real life situations. The number of small industries that are
producing different recycled materials from the processed
waste was determined by the field survey. Each of these
small recycling industries (RI) was surveyed in this study
once every three months. The RIs were categorized according
to the specific type of RSW they recycle. The quantities of
RSW collection and the quantity of recycled products were
obtained from the record book of industries. Information
about the prices of RSW, the number of employees etc. was
also obtained from the questionnaire survey. Interviews were
carried out with the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) authori-
ty once a year to know about the present waste management
scenario in Khulna city.

4 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this study it was observed that the waste recycling in
Khulna was done by the many individual waste collectors,
dealers and some small recycling industries. These various
groups of the private sector who do not receive any funding
from the government were found to do recycling activities in
an unorganized and unplanned way as a source of their in-
come.
From the field survey it was found that the waste collec-
tors were the first link in a long chain of recycling. They were
visible in every community of the city and came from nearby
slums. This group comprised of men, women and children.
Waste collection was observed under two broad categories:
1. According to the mode of waste collection: House to
house waste collectors (usually men and women; lo-
cally known as feriwala) and waste bin collectors
(usually children; both sexes, age below 15 years; lo-
cally referred to as tokai)
2. According to the mode of waste transportation: ma-
nual (by foot), or by using a tricycle.
The tokais were found to separate the RSW from mixed
waste and pick it up from the streets, drains, garbage contain-
ers, and at SDS and finally from the disposal site as shown in
Figure 2(a). They were observed carrying the separated RSW
in a plastic bag and selling it to the dealers at different prices
depending on the type and quality of the RSW. They never
used gloves and worked in unhygienic conditions. This job
was identified as the main source of their livelihood. During
rainy season their collection quantity was found to be very
FIGURE 2
Photographs of RSW collection in Khulna
RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH
little.
Feriwalas, on the other hand, were found to buy the sepa-
rated recyclable items stored for selling in homes. Most of the
feriwalas were observed carrying a basket, while a few had
tricycles as shown in Figure 2(b). The type of RSW identified
for dealing was dependent on the market situation. The RSW
was normally separated at the source location and not conta-
minated by mixing with biodegradable waste. It was found
that they purchased materials including bottles, broken
glasses, tin cans, containers, newspapers, magazines, alumi-
num utensils, iron items (construction rods, sanitary fittings
etc.) in exchange for money, gifts or sweets and sold those
materials to the dealers at a small profit. From the survey, it
was estimated that there were approximately 4000 people
including 2000 waste collectors involved in the recycling
chain network in Khulna as shown in Table 3. This estima-
tion was based on the information from the collectors, and
dealers.
Recycle dealers were found to be the second link in the
chain of recycling. Figure 3 shows a photograph of a typical
recycle dealer. They were observed and categorized into three
broad groups mainly on the basis of the quantity of waste
collection.
1. Small Scale Recycling Dealers (SSRD): SSRDs
were found to purchase all types of wastes from the
collectors and their collection of RSW was found to
be less than 250 kg/day on average.
2. Medium Scale Recycling Dealers (MSRD): Usually
MSRDs were found to deal with two or three kinds
of specific RSW. The amount of RSW collection by
each MSSRD was found to be within a range be-
5
 TABLE 3
Estimation of number of people involved in recycling process in Khulna

Location Waste Collectors Dealers Employees in Total

Industries

Feriwala Tokai

Men Women Children No. of Employee

Shiromoni 5 0 15 6 50 76

Fulbarigate 25 0 60 24 0 109

Dowlotpur 44 0 95 220 0 359

Khalishpur 65 10 120 120 20 335

Sheikhpara 450 20 850 600 200 2120

Sonadanga 11 0 35 50 45 141

Gollamari 10 3 50 60 45 168

Dakbangla 15 0 40 40 0 95

Munshipara 10 2 20 12 0 44

Lobonchora 8 2 15 8 350 383

Other places 15 0 12 110 40 177

Total 658 37 1312 1250 750 4007

FIGURE 3
A photograph of a typical recycling dealer

tween 250 kg/day to 600 kg/day on average. erage the amount of RSW collection by each LSRD
3. Large Scale Recycling Dealers (LSRD): The LSRDs was found to be greater than 600 kg/day.
were found to specialize in specific waste. On an av-

6 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
 The SSRDs were found to purchase waste materials from
tokais and feriwalas in exchange for money. Most of the
small dealers were found to separate, clean and sell the re-
covered materials to MSRDs. It was found that there were
277 SSRDs in Khulna as shown in Table 4. They accept all
types of waste from tokais and feriwalas and pay them accor-
dingly. The quantities of RSW collected by SSRDs were
32.46 tons/ day (Table 4).They were found to recycle some
separated paper waste into small packets manually (without
using any machines) and sell those to the market directly to
shopkeepers (Figure 5). On an average, they were found to do
business with 5 to 6 tokais and feriwalas attached to them for
the separation of different types of RSW. The separated RSW
was found to be sold to different MSRDs in Khulna.
The MSRDs were observed to purchase particular kinds
of waste from all the SSRDs in Khulna. The MSRDs were
also found to purchase RSW occasionally from some feriwa-
las and sometimes directly from institutions and markets of
all over Khulna city. Therefore, the RSW collections of
MSRDs were higher than those of SSRDs. A total of 140
MSRDs were found working in Khulna as shown in Table 4.
The quantity of RSW collected by MSRDs was 37.23 tons /
day (Table 4). They were usually found to deal with more
than two kinds of specific waste and sell those RSW to the
LSRDs of Khulna. They were found to employ 5 to 7 people
to clean and sort similar materials of RSW into different cat-
egories according to color, thickness or strength.
Most of the LSRDs were found to buy their raw materials
from the MSRDs. In Khulna 33 LSRDs were found (Table 4)
and each of them were observed collecting only one particu-
lar waste. They received RSW from all over Khulna city and
also from Chittagong city depending on the availability of the
particular waste. The quantity of RSW collected by the
LSRDs was 45.72 tons/day (Table 4). The LSRDs employed
6 to 10 people to sort and cut the material into regular shapes
and sell the recovered materials to industries. It was found
that they did not buy directly from the waste collectors due to
the unreliable quality and the small quantity of RSW. They
were found to sell some types of processed RSW (such as
glass, iron) to industries in Khulna and Dhaka. They sold
outside Khulna because all types of recycling industries were
not available in Khulna.
From the field survey, it was found that there were 31 RIs
in Khulna. They were indentified buying the RSW from all
the LSRDs in Khulna city. Sometimes in rainy season, when
the local supplies of RSW become depleted the RIs were ob-
served buying the RSW from Chittagong, another city of
Bangladesh. It was noticed that the RIs operated with very
simple machines. It was found that they depended only on the
RSW as raw material and did not buy new raw materials like
other manufacturing industries. The recycling processes in
recycling industries in Khulna were observed as shown in

TABLE 4
Quantity of RSW collection on the basis of location and catagories of dealers

Total amount of
Number of dealers with type Amount of RSW (kg/day) RSW (kg/day)
Total no. of
Location SSRD MSRD LSRD dealers SSRD MSRD LSRD

Fulbarigate 12 0 0 12 780 0 0 780

Dowlotpur 21 4 0 25 1575 1012 0 2587

Khalishpur 30 8 2 40 3300 2080 2300 7680

Shekpara 141 114 24 279 20445 30210 36000 86655

Sonadanga 7 0 0 7 420 0 0 420

Gollamari 10 3 0 13 750 780 0 1530

Dakbangla 6 1 2 9 744 310 2656 3710

Shiromoni 3 0 0 3 186 0 0 186

Munshipara 6 0 0 6 654 0 0 654

Labonchora 4 0 0 4 460 0 0 460

Other places 37 10 5 52 3145 2834 4760 10739

Total (on the basis of

dealers' catagories) 277 140 33 450 32459 37226 45716 -

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH 7

Figure 4. Only bone, plastic, paper, iron and tyre recycling city was developed as shown in Figure 5.
industries were found in Khulna. The RIs were found to sell
the recycled products in the local market in Khulna. Major Estimation of the Quantity of RSW
recycled items, their quantity and the corresponding recycling
industries are shown in Table 5. Finally, the amount of RSW Collected by the Collectors
recycled by the RIs was 60.19 tons/day (Table 5).
The flow diagram of the RSW recycling pattern in Khulna The total collection of RSW by the SSRDs was obtained

FIGURE 4
The Plastic recycling industry

TABLE 5
Major recycled RSW and the corresponding RIs in Khulna city

Type of RSW Total number of Recyclable amount Products Name of RI

RI collected (Kg/ Day)

Plastic 11 7513 Wheel of toy rickshaw, Cork, Electric Al Amin Plastic Industry, A. Rahman &Sons
switch, Plastic bottle, Dropper, Plastic Industry, M/S Tofazzal Honda Parts,
Gani Plastic, M/S Commilla Plastic, Soudia
Plastic, Panna Plastic, Nazimuddin Plastic,
Sorwar Plastic, Bhai Bhai Plastic Cutting,
Delwar Plastic.

Iron (Cast Iron) 5 3000 MeasuringWeight, Tawa, Fry Pan, Haman- Universal Steel Foundation, M/S Zaman
dista, Foundation, VIP Foundation, Kashem Founda-
tion, AVF Foundation

Iron (Mild Steel) 6 25805 Machine Parts, Knives etc Bismilla Iron, M/S Kamal Enterprise, M/S
Touhid Iron, M/S Jamal Foundation, M/S
Tareq Enterprise,Tamiz Uddin Iron

Bone 4 19333 Cap of capsule, Comb, Fertilizer, Tiles, Sattar Bone Mill, New Khulna Mill,. Talukdar
Stick Etc. Bone Mill, Pearl Bone Mill

Paper 1 2334 Hard paper used for book binding and Sattar Paper Mill
packets of sweet, shoe

Tyre 4 2200 Recycled Tyre Mitali Tyre Industry, Sonadanga tyre, Jalal
Tyre Resouling, AbdurRahman Tyre

Total 31 60185

8 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
 SDS

Dustbin Final disposal site

SSRD Institution

House hold

MSRD

LSRD
Import from Export to Dhaka
Chittagong
RI

Tokai
Fariwala
Dealer
Shop keeper
Market KCC staff - NGO workers

FIGURE 5
RSW recycling patterns in Khulna

(Table 4). However, how much they collected from waste
collectors and how much the SSRDs directly bought from
different institutions (Figure 5) was not clearly recorded in
their record books. Therefore, it was important to estimate the
quantity of RSW that was separated and collected for recy-
cling by the collectors only. The estimation of the quantity of
waste recycled was done by using the method of Agarwal et
al., 2005. The average weight picked by each child, man, and
woman was calculated by the arithmetic mean taken from the
survey results collected in each category of collectors. The
total quantity of RSW collected daily was divided into differ-
ent categories depending on the quantity collected by men,
women, and children through each of the transportation mod-
es as shown in Table 6. It was found that of all RSWs in the
city, paper was collected the most by the waste collectors,
while animal bones were collected the least (Table 6). This
could be explained by the fact that after food & vegetables
(78.9%), paper materials accounted for the second highest
weight (9.5%) of the total solid waste components generated
in the city (Table 2). Therefore, paper can be easily accessible
by many waste collectors. On the other hand, bones were
found to be collected by the MSRDs directly from the market,
not from the collectors.
In addition, the number of men, women, and children (in

TABLE 6
Average daily collection of RSW by weightfrom various categories of collectors

Average quantity of RSW collection (kg/day) Total

Mode of transporta-
Category tion of RSW Glass Paper Plastic Metal Animal bone (kg/day)

Tokai

(Children) Manual 0.5 6 1.5 1 1 10

Feriwala Manual 1 7 3 2 2 15

(Men) Tricycle 4 11 8 10 2 35

Feriwala (Women) Manual 2 6 3 1 0 12

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH 9

terms of percentages) was evaluated by the field surveys as
shown in Table 7. From the data shown in Table 6 and Table
7, the average weight collected by an average waste collector
was evaluated as below:
Average daily weight picked up by an average waste col-
lector
= (number of children ×RSW carried by each child
+ number of men × RSW carried by each man
+ number of women × RSW carried by each woman)/ total
number of waste collectors
= [(65/100) (ratio of children-manual mode) ×10(kg/child-
manual mode)
+ (8/100) (ratio of man-manual mode) × 15(kg/man-manual
mode)
+ (25/100) (ratio of man-tricycle mode) × 35(kg/man-tricycle
mode)
+ (2/100) (ratio of woman-manual mode) × l2 (kg/woman-
manual mode)] = 16.69 Kg ≈ 17 Kg
Hence, total quantity of RSW collected daily by the waste
collectors
= Number of waste collectors x average weight picked by
each waste collector
= 2000 waste collectors x 17 kg = 34,000 Kg =34 tons
Thus the estimated quantities of RSW collected for recy-
cling by the waste collectors in Khulna were 34 tons/day.
Estimation of Recycled Quantity of Khulna
City’s Waste
The estimation of the RSW collection by the collectors
(34,000 kg/day) was given in the former section: Estimation
of the Quantity of RSW Collected by Collectors. The data
from the survey results of the RSW collection by the dealers
(SSRD: 32,459 kg/day, MSRD: 37,226 kg/day and LSRD:
45,716 kg/day) and by the RIs (60,185 kg/day) were shown in
Table 4 and Table 5 respectively. In order to check the accu-
racy of these data from the various recycling groups a sche-
matic mass balance was developed on the basis of the present
recycling patterns as shown in Figure 6. Furthermore, it was

TABLE 7
Percentage of children, men and women using different modes of transportation

Mode of transportation of recyclables

Category Manual (%) Tricycle (%)

Children 65 None

Men 8 25

Women 2 None

Import 17.07 t/d

Plastic
7.513 t/d
Import
Collector 8.49 t/d Cast iron
Shopkeeper 4.0 t/d 3.00 t/d
2.46 t /d
Mild steel
RI
25.81 t/d
60.19 t/d
Collector SSRD MSRD LSRD
32.46 t/d 45.72 t/d Bone
30.0 t /d 37.23 t/d 19.33 3t/d

Paper
2.33 t/d
Export
Recycle Shopkeeper 2.6 t/d
7.08 t/d 7.85 t/d Tyre
2.2 t/d
FIGURE 6
Schematic mass balance of recycling activities in Khulna

10 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
very important to estimate the recycled quantity of Khulna
city’s waste. From the recycling pattern (Figure 5) and the
mass balance (Figure 6) it was clear that the MSRDs only
collected all of their RSW from different sources in Khulna.
However, the LSRDs and RIs were found to buy RSW from
Khulna and outside of Khulna. Therefore, it is logical to es-
timate the quantity (37.23 tons/day) collected and processed
by the MSRDs as the total recycled waste of Khulna city.
That was equal to 7.2% of the total generated waste (520
tons/day) and 53.2% of the RSW (70 tons/day) of Khulna
city.
Profit Margin to the RSW
The item prices of different RSW at different dealers and
industries were obtained from the field survey as shown in
Table 8. The profit margin added to the prices of the items in
the waste recycling chain from the SSRD level to RI level
varied from 23 % to 100 % depending on the recycling poten-
tial of the material, its ease of availability and the demand in
the market. The highest profit margin occurred in PET bot-
tles, which were found to have a long life span and are readi-
ly recyclable and reusable. On the other hand, iron obtained
the highest revenues for the dealers due to the high market
cost of iron.
Organizing the Sector
The waste collectors were found to do recycling activities
due to the absence of an alternative employment. The work-
ing conditions were unhygienic and the collectors did not
wear security equipment such as boots and gloves. The
chances of transmission of diseases were very high. When the
waste collectors became sick, they lost their earnings due to
the absence of medical facilities. Besides, in the rainy season
the tokais could not collect anything because the water
caused the biodegradable material to decompose thereby
making the sorting of the recyclable material impossible.
At present, the recycling activity is unorganized. By orga-
nizing the activity the work can be recognized as an employ-
ment (with medical benefits). Therefore, organized recycling
may be an approach for the improvement of the working and
living conditions of the waste collectors. With this in view,
three models are proposed and are evaluated for the feasibili-
ty of organizing the private recycling sector by KCC.
Recycling model-A: Model A is based upon the concept of
regularizing the services of all waste collectors in Khulna as
an employment. The following are the major assumptions
(adapted from Agarwal et. al., 2005) of the model:
1. All the waste collectors would be hired by KCC. KCC
would take over the unorganized trade and provide em-
ployment to the poor waste collectors.
2. All the existing waste collectors would participate in the
organized activity.
3. The wage to be paid to an employee would be Tk. 120
per day. This is the minimum wage, primarily applicable
to workers in the unorganized sector.

TABLE 8
Prices of RSW at different recycling levels

RSW Price at SSRD Price at MSRD Price at LSRD Price at RI Profit Margin
(Tk/Kg) (Tk/Kg) (Tk/Kg) (Tk/Kg)

Paper white 10 12 14 - -

mixed shredded paper 6 8 9 10 67%

cartons and brown packing papers 5 6.5 8 9 80%

Glass Broken glass 0.5 0.75 1 - -

Bottles 1 1.25 1.5 - -

Plastic Hard plastic(shampoo bottles etc) 22 23 25 27 23%

PET bottles (mineral water bottles) 5 8 9.5 10 100%

Iron 23 24 26 30 30%

Bone 3 3.5 4 5 67%

RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH 11

4. Gross profits earned from the waste are based upon the
value of the waste recovered (34 tones) by the waste col-
lectors. To estimate the gross profit earned from the
above material, an analysis is done as shown in Table 9.
The calculations have been performed using the prices of
the various materials at the level of SSRDs. The total
number of SSRDs in Khulna is 277.
5. The other overheads, obtained from interviews with
KCC officials, such as charges for medical facilities, su-
pervising charges, the storage and transportation of
waste, and miscellaneous overheads, would account for
additional charges to the tune of 30% of the wages.
Net profit = total value of the recycled waste - expenditure
incurred by KCC = (gross profit earned per day x number of
SSRDs) - (number of waste collector x average daily wages
+overhead charges)
Net profit = [282.50(Tk./day/dealer) x 277(number of
SSRDs)] – [2000(number of waste collectors) x 120(Tk. /day)
+2000(number of waste collectors) x 120 (Tk/day) x
0.30(percent fraction)]
Net profit =78,252.50 Tk. per day – Tk. 3, 12,000 per day =
(-) Tk. 2 33,747.50 per day
Net loss = 80,937,837.50 Tk. per year
This obviously would be unacceptable to KCC as it would
result in a loss-making approach for the corporation. The
mass balance for model A is same as the mass balance of
existing recycling (Figure 6).
Recycling model B: Regularizing a few waste collectors and
equipping them with tricycles. In this model, a few waste
Gross profits earned at the small scale recycling dealer level
Recyclable materials Mean profit at SSRD (Tk./kg)
Paper
Plastic (hard)
Plastic (soft)
Glass
Animal Bone
Metal
Gross profit earned per day (Tk)
12 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
collectors from the private sector could be employed and
provided with tricycles to enhance their productivity. The
following are the major assumptions (adapted from Agarwal
et. al., 2005) of this model:
1. The waste collectors are provided with tricycles to in-
crease their efficiency.
2. Each tricycle costs TK. 9,500
3. The maximum collection capacity of a tricycle driven by
a man as found from field surveys was 65 kg/day. This
implies that 523 tricycles will have to be bought and an
equal number of waste collectors employed. .
4. Assuming a 30% overhead over the salary component
and accounting for a depreciation period of 15 years
(considering the life time of a tricycle is 15 years)
Net profit/loss = total value of the recycled waste- expendi-
ture incurred by the KCC
Net profit = (gross profits earned x number of small recy-
cling shops) - (wages + one time investment to buy tri-
cycles/15 + 30% overheads over salary component)
Net profit = 282.50(Tk/day) x 277(number of SSRD) x
365(days/year) - [523(number of waste collectors) x
120(Tk/day) x 365(days/year) + 523(number of tricycles) x
9,500(Tk/tricycle)/15(years) + 0.30(percent fraction) x
523(number of waste collectors) x 120(Tk/day)]
Net profit = 5,304,701.17 Tk per year
This proposal seems economically feasible, as the recov-
ered costs of the recycled waste would be greater than the
expenses. However, this proposal has obvious shortcomings
as 1477 waste collectors would lose their daily employment.
Finding alternative employment for these poor collectors
TABLE 9
Amount traded Profit earned per dealer
per day (kg) Tk/day
2 32 64
6 20 120
3 10 30
0.5 13 6.5
2 3 6
4 14 56
282.5
VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
would be a difficult task. The mass balance for the model is
same as shown in Figure 6.
Recycling model C: This model assumes the collection of 55
tons/day (71% of the RSW) of RSW and the regularization of
more waste collectors than that of model B and equipping
them with tricycles. The collection of 55 tons/day is reasona-
ble because previously it was found that the waste collectors
were collecting RSW irregularly and randomly from different
sources. The RSW from some bins and households were
found to remain uncollected. About 60% of RSW of the
waste bins became unrecoverable due to the mixing of other
biodegradable waste for a long time (Moniruzzaman, 2007).
By organizing and distributing the collectors to collect from
each source (waste bin, household etc) at a regular interval
the proposed amount of collection can be achieved easily. In
this model, more collectors from the private sector could be
employed and provided with tricycles to enhance their prod-
uctivity and the rest of the collectors could be employed in
SSRDs and MSRDs to process the extra waste. The mass
balance for the model C is developed considering the addi-
tional amount of waste gathered by the collectors and the
exportation of these extra wastes to other cities collected by
the LSRDs after processing at the different stages of the recy-
cling chain as shown in Figure 7. The following are the major
assumptions of this model:
1. The waste collectors are provided with tricycles to in-
crease their efficiency.
2. Each tricycle costs TK. 9,500
3. The average collection capacity of each tricycle for the
waste collectors as found from the field surveys was 60
kg/day. This implies that 917 tricycles will have to be
Shopkeeper
2.46 t/d Import
8.49 t/d
Collector SSRD / MSRD LSRD
55.0 t /d 57.46 t/d 58.87 t/d
Recycle
7.08 t/d
FIGURE 7
Schematic mass balance for recycling model C
RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH
bought and an equal number of waste collectors be em-
ployed.
4. The waste collectors could supply RSW to both the
SSRDs and MSRDs at same price.
5. Assuming a 30% overhead over the salary component
and accounting for a depreciation period of 15 years
(considering the life time of a tricycle is 15 years)
Net profit/loss = total value of the recycled waste- expendi-
ture incurred by the KCC
Net profit = (gross profits earned x number of SSRDs and
MSRDs) - (wages + one time investment to buy tricycles/15 +
30% overheads over salary component)
Net profit = 282.50(Tk/day) x 417(number of SSRDs and
MSRDs) x 365(days/year) - [917(number of waste collectors)
x 120(Tk/day) x 365(days/year) + 917(number of tricycles) x
9,500(Tk/tricycle)/15(years) + 0.30(percent fraction) x
917(number of waste collectors) x 120(Tk/day)]
Net profit = 2, 219,533.83 Tk per year
This proposal seems economically sustainable, as the re-
covered cost of the recycled waste would exceed the expense.
The rest of the 1083 waste collectors will find alternative
employment in the SSRDs to separate the different types of
RSW and in the MSRDs to clean and segregate each type of
RSW according to color, thickness etc. The assessment of
employment is done by examining the ratio of employees to
material processed as shown in Table 10. Therefore, this pro-
posal seems socially sustainable also because it would imply
Import 17.07 t/d
Plastic
7.51 t/d
Cast iron
3t/d
Mild steel
25.81t/d
Bone
19.33 t/d
RI
60.19 t/d Paper
2.33 t/d
Export
15.75 t/d
Tyre
2.2 t/d
13
 TABLE 10
Estimation for the number of employees to be required for the model C
Average number of employees/dealers at present
Number of dealers
Total number of employees
Material processed at present (Kg/day)
Ratio of employees to material processed
Material to be processed (Kg/day)
Total employees to be required
Extra employees to be required
Extra employees to be required in total
no loss of jobs for the collectors, since they can easily sort
and clean RSW.
Expenditure Savings by the Private Sector
Khulna City Corporation spent 28,803,000 taka during the
1998-99 financial year for solid waste management and col-
lected only 80 tons/day. Thus the expenditure per ton per day
for solid waste management in Khulna was 986.40 Tk.
(Enayetullah & Sinha, 2000). It was found that the private
sector was removing 37.23 tons/day of solid waste per day in
Khulna. Therefore, it can be estimated that the private sector
is saving a revenue of 13, 404,140.28 Tk. per year.
CONCLUSION
The existence of waste, mainly the recyclable solid waste
has opened up quite an extensive possibility for the various
groups of the community in Khulna to utilize it. Among the
different types of RSW processed or recycled are: paper,
plastic, iron, animal bone, tyre/rubber, glass, aluminum, tin.
The recycling of solid waste is presently carried out by many
waste collectors, a series of dealers and industries. Although
the recycling of solid waste is not included in the waste man-
agement policy of local government, it has become a main
14 JOURNAL OF SOLID WASTE TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Category of dealers
SSRD MSRD
5 6
277 140
1385 840
32.46 37.23
42.67 22.56
57.46 57.46
2452 1296
1067 456
1523
source of income for several groups of the private sector. The
private sector is saving a revenue of 13,404,140.28 Tk per
year by collecting solid waste.
In Khulna, approximately 2000 waste collectors are in-
volved in collecting 34 tons/day of RSW and selling it to
dealers. A total of 450 dealers are involved in the recycling
process. They are categorized as SSRDs, MSRDs and
LSRDs. 277 SSRDs collect 32.46 tons/day from collectors
and from institutions through shopkeepers. SSRDs recycle
7.08 tons/day and the rest of the processed waste they sell to
MSRDs. 140 MSRDs collect 37.23 tons/day from SSRDs and
from markets and institutions in Khulna. They sell all the
processed waste to LSRDs. 33 LSRDs collect 45.72 tons/day
from Khulna and outside of Khulna. They export 2.6 tons/day
to industries in Dhaka. The rest of the processed waste they
sell to the RIs. 31 small recycling industries are found to re-
cycle 60.19 tons/day which include waste from all over the
Khulna city and also outside of Khulna.
It is clear that the MSRDs buy all of the RSW from dif-
ferent sources of Khulna. However, the LSRDs and RIs buy
RSW from Khulna and outside Khulna. Therefore, it is rea-
sonable to consider the quantity (37.23 tons/day) collected
and processed by the MSRDs as the total recycled waste of
Khulna city. That is equal to 7.2% of the total generated
waste (520 tons/day) and 53.2% of RSW (70 tons/day) of
Khulna city.
Presently, the recycling activity is completely unorga-
VOLUME 37, NO. 1 FEBRUARY 2011
nized. With the view of organizing the activities three models
are proposed and are evaluated. It is possible to organize the
recycling activity, so that the waste collectors can lead a se-
cured and better life. Model A is not financially viable. Mod-
el B is financially viable with loss of jobs for women and
children that will have socio-economic impacts on the lives
of these waste collectors. Model C is financially and socially
viable as recovered costs of the recycled waste would exceed
the expenses and there would be no loss of jobs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to Mr. Alhaz Uddin and Mr.
Mostafizur Rahman (Undergraduate students, Department of
Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and
Technology, Khulna-9203, Bangladesh) for conducting some
of the field surveys. We also would like to thank the reviewer
for his inspiring and constructive comments on the paper. The
authors are also grateful to Mr. Kenneth Lee Atkinson (Eng-
lish Teacher, University of Fukui, 3-9-1 Bunkyo, Fukui 910-
8507, Japan) for correcting the grammar in this paper.
REFERENCES
Agarwal, A., A. Singhmar, M. Kulshrestha, and. A.K. Mittal
(2005): “Municipal Solid Waste Recycling and Asso-
ciated Markets in Delhi, India.” Resource, Conservation
and Recycling, Volume 44, pp. 73-90.
RECYCLING PRACTICES OF SOLID WASTE IN KHULNA CITY, BANGLADESH
View publication stats
Diamadopoulos, E., Y. Koutsantonakis, and V. Zaglara
(1995): “Optimal design of municipal solid waste recy-
cling systems.” Resource Conservation and Recycling,
Volume 14, pp. 21–34.
EPA (2004): Municipal Solid Waste Basic Facts U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency,
http:/ www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm.
Enayetullah, I. and A.M. Sinha, (2000): “Community Based
Solid Waste Management: The Asian Experience 4.” 1st
Ed. Waste Concern, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Moniruzzaman, S.M.,(2007): Recycling of Solid Waste in
Khulna City; M.Sc. Engineering Thesis, The Department
of Civil Engineering; KUET, Khulna, Bangladesh.
Kaseva, M.E. and S.K. Gupta (1996): “Recycling—an envi-
ronmentally friendly and income generating activity-
towards sustainable solid wastes management. Case
study—Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania” Resources Conser-
vation and Recycling, Volume 17, pp. 299–309.
KCC (2005): Feasibility Study on Municipal Solid Waste
Management in Khulna City Corporation. Department of
Civil Engineering, KUET, Bangladesh & Asia Pro Eco
Program of the European Commission.
Waste Safe (2005): Integrated Management and Safe Dispos-
al of Municipal Solid Waste in Least Developed Asian
Countries. M. Alamgir, C. McDonald, K.E. Roehl and A.
Ahsan edited final report of Waste Safe, a feasibility study
project under Asia Pro Eco Program at KUET, Bangla-
desh.
15