The concept

Asia Pro Eco is designed to strengthen the environmental dialogue between Asia and Europe through exchange of policies, technologies and best practices that promote more resource-efficient, market driven and sustainable solutions to environmental problems in Asia. The programme aims to support a series of preventive and corrective actions which materialise technical solutions contribute both quality of life and economic prosperity in Asia.

Background of the Project

In least developed Asian Countries (LDACs), municipal solid waste (MSW) remains unmanageable and is one of the striking issues, environmentally and socially due to an inadequate waste management, financial constrains, absence of appropriate technology, lack of people’s awareness, motivation and participation, ineffective legislation and law enforcement.

Generated MSW must be managed in an appropriate way which is absent in most cities of LDACs including Khulna (Bangladesh) to have a clean, hygiene and environmental-friendly city. The Department of Civil Engineering of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bangladesh conducted a twelve months (14.04.2004 to 13.04.2005) feasibility study project called "Integrated management and safe disposal of municipal solid waste in LDACs - 'WasteSafe' ". It was co-financed by European Commission to solve these striking issues. The Project proposed a system named as "WasteSafe proposal" with some specific guidelines. An appropriate MSW management can be established for any specific region by using the analysis and evaluation of practical application of this proposal. To endeavour that, a three years (01.012007 to 31.12.2009) partnership project co-financed by Asia Pro Eco II Programme of EC called "Safe and Sustainable Management of Municipal Solid Waste in Bangladesh through the Practical Application of WasteSafe Proposal - ’WasteSafe II’ " (http://www.wastesafe.info/ 02_project.htm) has has been undertaken by KUET, Bangladesh in partnership of Khulna City Corporation (KCC), Bangladesh; Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany; Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand; Bauhaus International Research & Education Centre (BIREC), Germany and Lublin University of Technology (LUT), Poland.

The overall target

The target of the proposed project is to encourage the concerned stakeholders in LDACs to formulate and apply appropriate technical know-how and guidelines for the implementation of safe and sustainable MSW management. That proposal considers Bangladesh as case study country for practical implementation of recently suggested WasteSafe proposal (outcome of Asia Pro Eco feasibility study project) through several relevant operations.

The specific objectives and tasks of the project include:

P erformance of a specific need analysis explicitly based on the results of WasteSafe to obtain clear data about sources, amounts, compostions and characteristics of the waste streams to be disposed of and the way how to dispose it.

S election of an integrated waste management approach based on WasteSafe considering waste system components such as generation & collection, sorting & recovery, transfer & treatment and appropriate disposal. Furthermore: aspects of evaluation such as source & streams, costs & returns, health & environment and community & structure.

D evelopment of a WMMP for MSW in the main case study city, Khulna, based on the reality check results of WasteSafe approach. Aspects should be elaborately addressed related to storage, collection, assembly, transport and disposal, including composting, treatment and landfill.

D rawing and elaborating sketches of various important aspects of waste management for Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet through workshops, seminars, discussion and training under supervision of experts.

S tudying the usability of local building materials for landfill construction by sampling and analysing selected potentially suitable materials (natural resources such as clays and clayey soils) and testing it in lysimeter set-ups.

S tudy of acceptable composting technology based on the waste streams, local condition, socio-economic setting, available technologies, market facilities and other associated aspects.

P erformance of demo projects on composting plant and landfill cell to demonstrate composting technology, modern landfill standards e.g. planning, design, construction and operation of a pilot-scale engineered landfill cell at specified local conditions and by testing various locally available facilities a materials.

S tudy the special problems arising from the need to construct landfills in low-lying areas with a high groundwater level and a high risk to flooding, and even in wetlands, by wetland cell tests and propose technical solutions.

A ssessment will be conducted on the generation area, primary collection, transfer stations, secondary collection, transfer, composting, recycling and sanitary landfill technique.

F inalisation of WMMP and appropriate technical guidelines for all tiers of MSW management based on the inherent conditions of LDACs to support the achievement of a safe and sustainable MSW management.

Further specific objectives of the planned project beyond the purely technical tasks are:

O rganisation of seminars and conferences on MSW management strategies in LDACs to disseminate the results among the relevant stakeholders.

O rganisation of field visits to demonstrate activities of Khulna city to get physical touch with the improved systems for the relevant stakeholders from other cities all over the Bangladesh.

E ducate local target groups and stakeholders by introduction of WasteSafe proposal and the technique handling, training and workshops, awareness and motivation campaigns in the field of waste management.

F acilitate research contacts between European and South-east Asian experts to achieve an improved co-operation in the field of waste management and to contribute to the development in this field especially in LDACs.

F acilitate contacts between European companies as well as consultants working in the field of waste management and relevant stakeholders in Asian countries.

F inally, development of a sustainable European and Asian Waste Management Network (EawmNet).

The target groups:

Target groups of the project compost of Asian academics, engineers, consultants, authorities and NGOs.

Direct involved target groups consist of representatives and/or officials:

• of the Ministries of Environment and Local Government of Bangladesh (a work group of at least 4 persons),
• of city corporations and municipalities of Bangladesh (a work group of at least 4 persons),
• of companies, NGOs, CBOs,
• other relevant organisations and
• individuals already working in the field of MSW management in Bangladesh as well as
• of future interested from both Asian and European sides (work groups of at least 8 people at each big city, 2 of them regularly attend project meetings at Khulna and transfer learned knowledge directly to work group members who are lead other local stakeholders — NGOs, small local environmental focused businesses and individuals),
• of research institutions e. g. academicians and professionals from both European and Asian organisations working in the field of MSW management and
• of citizens of the six major cities of Bangladesh (Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet) and other urban areas.

The expected outcomes