Trash to Treasure: Current Status, Challenges, Opportunities, and Way Forward for Waste Management

Bangladesh faces a mounting waste management challenge as rapid urbanization and economic growth outpace infrastructure development. Every day, thousands of tonnes of solid waste are generated across the country. How this waste is handled has profound implications for public health, the environment, and sustainable development. This article examines the current status of waste management in Bangladesh, the key challenges hindering progress, opportunities for innovation and improvement (drawing on global examples), and a strategic way forward.

Current Status

Waste Generation and Composition: Bangladesh generates an estimated 25,000–30,000 tonnes of solid waste per day. In urban areas, waste production has surged from about 6,500 tonnes per day in 1991 to over 33,000 tonnes per day by 2021. This growth is driven by a rising population and changing consumption patterns. Per capita municipal waste generation (urban) stands around 0.5 kg per day, and is projected to more than double to 1.1–1.2 kg by 2041. If current trends continue, total waste generation could reach 142,000 tonnes per day by 2041 – an almost six-fold increase that underscores the urgency of improving waste management capacity.

The composition of Bangladesh’s waste stream is dominated by organic matter. Food and other organic waste make up the majority of municipal solid waste (estimates range from about 50% in large cities to over 70% in smaller towns. This includes kitchen scraps, market waste, and other biodegradables. The remainder comprises plastics (around 5–10%), paper (roughly 2–5%), textiles (around 3–4%), glass, metal, and other materials. The high organic content means the waste is wet and heavy – challenging to manage, but also an opportunity if composted or converted to energy. Meanwhile, the share of plastic waste has been rising with increased use of packaging and disposable products, and electronic waste (e-waste) is emerging as a new concern (though still a small fraction of the total). Medical waste has also grown in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disposal and Current Practices: 

Waste collection and disposal systems in Bangladesh are struggling to keep up with the constantly growing waste volume. On average, only about 45–50% of urban waste is formally collected by municipal authorities while the rest is often dumped on streets, open fields, or into waterways. Even the collected portion is largely disposed of in open dumpsites. Bangladesh lacks engineered sanitary landfills (scientifically designed waste disposal sites that use engineered barriers, environmental controls, and operational practices to safely isolate solid waste from the environment and human health) for safe containment of waste. Instead, most cities rely on dumping grounds without proper lining or leachate treatment (the process of collecting and treating the contaminated liquid that forms when water passes through waste materials).

In Dhaka, for instance, two sprawling landfill sites – Matuail and Aminbazar receive thousands of tonnes of garbage daily, well beyond their design capacity. Matuail landfill, the capital’s largest, has effectively exceeded its limit, causing waste to overflow into surrounding wetlands. Aminbazar, located in Savar upazila 24 km northwest of Dhaka, covers five zones and 36 wards of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and became operational in 2007 over 52 acres (21 ha). Matuail, administered by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), was first established in 1995 as a 50-acre (20 ha) open dump and expanded by another 50 acres in 2006, now covering 57 wards under five DSCC zones. Together, these two landfills serve nearly all of Dhaka’s waste disposal needs but are rapidly running out of space.

This growing land scarcity adds another layer to the waste management crisis. Bangladesh is a densely populated country with limited land available for new waste disposal or treatment facilities—especially near urban centers. As existing dumpsites reach their limits, the option of simply expanding landfill space becomes increasingly difficult and expensive. Sustainable waste solutions must therefore prioritize reduction, segregation, and treatment to minimize the land footprint.

Amid these challenges in formal waste management, informal and community-led initiatives have emerged to recover value from the waste stream. Informal waste pickers play a crucial role in scavenging recyclable materials like plastics, paper, and metals from trash heaps. However, due to the lack of source separation, much recyclable value is lost. Some positive initiatives exist – for example, NGOs like Waste Concern have introduced community-based composting in cities, and there are small enterprises recycling plastics – but these cover only a fraction of the waste stream.

Governance and Policy Status: 

The Bangladesh government has taken initial steps toward better waste management policies. A National 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Strategy was adopted in 2010, and more recently the Solid Waste Management Rules 2021 were issued with modern provisions

Notably, the 2021 rules introduced the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – making producers responsible for managing waste (like packaging or e-waste) – for the first time in Bangladesh. The rules also call for mandatory source segregation of waste at household level. However, implementation of these policies remains weak to date. Municipal waste management is under-resourced, and coordination among agencies such as the city corporation, concerned ministries, and the local government division is lacking. In summary, Bangladesh’s current waste management system is at a tipping point: waste generation is rapidly increasing while collection, recycling, and safe disposal infrastructure remain inadequate, posing serious consequences for the country.

Challenges

Despite notable policy advances and grassroots innovations, Bangladesh continues to face a complex and escalating waste management crisis. Rapid urbanization, population growth, and changing consumption patterns have dramatically increased the volume and complexity of waste being generated. Yet the country’s systems for waste collection, disposal, treatment, and regulation remain underdeveloped and poorly enforced. These gaps have far-reaching consequences not only for the environment, but also for public health, urban resilience, and long-term sustainability. Key issues include:

• Environmental Degradation: Open dumping and burning of waste are causing severe pollution. Leachate from dumpsites contaminates soil and water, while decaying organic waste emits methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO₂. The waste sector is a significant contributor to Bangladesh’s greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution. Plastics and other litter clog rivers and drains, worsening urban flooding. Bangladesh is already ranked 6th in the world for plastic pollution of aquatic environments, as huge amounts of mismanaged plastic waste end up in the Bay of Bengal via river systems. These environmental impacts not only harm ecosystems (marine and terrestrial) but also undermine climate resilience for this disaster-prone nation. Flooding worsens as drains and waterways are blocked, reducing a city’s ability to cope with intense rainfall and rising sea levels. In marine ecosystems, plastic debris is ingested by fish and aquatic species, disrupts reproductive cycles, damages coral reefs, and alters the food chain, threatening biodiversity and livelihoods dependent on fisheries
• Public Health Hazards: Poor waste management directly affects human health. Rotting garbage breeds vermin and disease vectors (flies, mosquitoes, rodents), spreading diarrheal diseases, dengue, cholera, and other illnesses. In the first 6 months of 2025, Bangladesh reported over 10,000 dengue cases resulting in 42 deaths. Toxic smoke from burning trash (common in both urban slums and rural areas) carries respiratory risks. Those living or working near dumpsites – often the urban poor – face continuous exposure to harmful substances. For example, among the 100,000 working in Dhaka alone, waste pickers (including children) at sites like Matuail suffer from skin and respiratory problems due to contact with medical waste, hazardous chemicals, and smoke. The prevalence of open dumping in neighborhoods also degrades quality of life, with foul odor and visual blight. In essence, the waste crisis has become a public health crisis, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities.
• Policy Gaps and Enforcement Issues: While Bangladesh has introduced policies like EPR and mandatory segregation on paper, enforcement is lacking. There is a gap between policy formulation and ground reality. For instance, laws require industries to reduce plastic use and manage waste properly, but there are rarely penalties or monitoring for non-compliance. The lack of Extended Producer Responsibility implementation means manufacturers are not yet accountable for the post-consumer waste of their products. Additionally, poor segregation of waste at source persists – households and businesses mostly dump all waste mixed together. This makes downstream recycling or treatment much more difficult. Public awareness and participation in waste reduction are still low; littering is common and the concept of waste separation is new. In summary, governance and behavior have not caught up to the needs of sustainable waste management.

These challenges are interrelated. For example, without segregation or EPR, recycling stays low, leading to more waste in dumps (worsening environmental and land pressures). The result is a vicious cycle that Bangladesh must work to break. Fortunately, there are many opportunities and solutions that can be pursued, learning from both local initiatives and global best practices.

Opportunities

Despite the daunting challenges, there are significant opportunities to improve Bangladesh’s waste management, leveraging emerging technologies, innovative practices, and supportive policies. By transforming how waste is handled, Bangladesh can mitigate environmental harm and even create economic value (“waste to wealth”). Below are several promising avenues, with real-world examples demonstrating their potential:

• Recycling and Plastic-to-Fuel Innovations: Improving the recycling rate is crucial for Bangladesh to reclaim value from waste and reduce pollution. A key area is plastic waste, which is visibly piling up in the environment. Strengthening plastic recycling involves expanding collection systems (integrating the informal collectors into formal recycling supply chains), investing in recycling facilities, and building consumer awareness to develop the domestic market. Beyond traditional recycling, innovative approaches to repurpose plastic are emerging. One example is using waste plastics in road construction – India has successfully built more than 100,000 km of roads using shredded plastic mixed into bitumen (as an additive in asphalt), which increases road durability while consuming significant amounts of plastic waste. Bangladesh can explore similar techniques for its road network, given the country’s growing plastic pollution problem. Another innovation is plastic-to-fuel (pyrolysis) technology, which involves heating mixed plastic waste in the absence of oxygen to produce fuel oil, gas, and char. This approach is being piloted in various countries to convert unrecyclable plastics into usable fuel. For instance, in India and Indonesia, startups are using pyrolysis to turn plastic litter into low-grade diesel for industrial use. If environmental safeguards are ensured, such technology could be a way to tap the energy content of Bangladesh’s plastic waste and reduce the volume ending up in landfills or waterways. Likewise, paper, glass, and metal recycling can be bolstered by setting up material recovery facilities and incentivizing source separation (for example, deposit-refund schemes for beverage containers). Strengthening recycling not only reduces waste disposal needs but can spur new industries and jobs in manufacturing recycled products.
• Organic Waste Valorization (Composting & Biogas): Given that organic matter is the largest component of Bangladesh’s waste, composting and biogas production are high-impact solutions. Composting converts food and green waste into organic fertilizer, reducing landfill volume and providing a product useful for agriculture. For example, Waste Concern’s community-based composting model in Dhaka processes organic waste from markets and households, converting about 130 tonnes per day into compost. Over a decade, this initiative not only diverted a substantial amount of waste from dumpsites but also reduced an estimated 89,000 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions (by avoiding methane from anaerobic decay) and created green jobs for low-income waste pickers. Scaling up composting across all cities (through decentralized compost plants or even home composting for households) could significantly cut the waste sent to landfills while improving soil health for farmers. Similarly, biogas systems can be deployed to digest organic waste (or sewage and animal waste) to produce methane-rich biogas as a renewable fuel. Small-scale biogas digesters in markets or communities can turn food waste into cooking fuel or electricity, as seen in projects in Nepal and India.
  
• Waste-to-Energy (WTE): For the fraction of waste that cannot be easily recycled or composted, waste-to-energy offers an opportunity to reduce volume while generating power. Modern WTE plants, typically incinerators with energy recovery, can significantly shrink the waste that needs final disposal. A case in point is Singapore, a land-scarce country that now incinerates about 80% of its solid waste in WTE facilities, drastically cutting the volume going to landfill. Singapore’s Tuas Incineration Plant, for example, burns 3,000 tonnes of waste per day to produce electricity, reducing waste volume by 90% (the remaining ash is landfilled). 

Inspired by such models, Bangladesh has shown interest in WTE. Chinese firm China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) has been contracted to build the first WTE plant near Aminbazar in Dhaka. As per the agreement, Dhaka city will supply 3,000 mts of solid waste to the project daily while CMEC will set up an incineration plant to generate 42.5 MW power and BPDB will purchase the electricity from the plant at US 21.78 Cents, equivalent to Tk 18.23, per kilowatt hour (each unit) over the period of 25 years. If executed properly, this could alleviate the pressure on Dhaka’s dumpsites and provide a new energy source. However, it is crucial to ensure appropriate technology and emission controls; poorly managed incineration can release toxic fumes (dioxins, heavy metals). Therefore, any WTE project in Bangladesh should adopt proven technologies, robust air pollution control systems, and treat only non-recyclable waste. Additionally, other forms of WTE like incineration of medical waste in dedicated facilities, or landfill gas capture (collecting methane from existing dumps to generate electricity), can contribute to both waste reduction and energy production. 

• E-waste such as discarded electronics, appliances, and batteries is rapidly growing in Bangladesh due to rising digital device use. While it contains valuable materials like metals and plastics, it also poses environmental risks from hazardous substances such as lead and mercury. This highlights the need for specialized recycling systems and enforcement of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). India offers a relevant model, having introduced EPR-based e-waste rules in 2011 (strengthened in 2016), which led to the creation of formal collection centers and recycling facilities across major cities. As a result, the formally collected e-waste in India rose from virtually zero to about 10% of the total generated e-waste by 2019 – a notable improvement, though still with room to grow. Bangladesh can adopt a similar approach under its 2021 waste rules EPR provision: enforce that importers and producers of electronics (phones, TVs, batteries, etc.) set up collection programs or partner with recyclers to safely extract metals and dispose of toxins. Not only would this reduce hazardous pollution (like lead-acid battery dumping), it could also create jobs in recycling and recover precious metals (copper, silver, even gold) from electronic scrap. International partnerships and guidelines (such as those promoted by the Basel Convention for e-waste) can support Bangladesh in building capacity for e-waste management. By treating e-waste as an opportunity for resource recovery, Bangladesh can avoid the mistakes of others and leapfrog to safer handling of this growing waste category.
• Construction & Demolition Waste Recycling: With Bangladesh’s rapid urban growth, construction and demolition (C&D) waste – concrete debris, bricks, rubble, etc. – is increasing as old buildings are torn down and new ones built. Traditionally, C&D waste has been dumped haphazardly (often in low-lying areas) or used as fill, but it can actually be largely recycled. Many materials from construction can be crushed and reused as aggregates in new construction, or repurposed in other civil works. Leading countries like the Netherlands recycle over 90% of their C&D waste, thanks to strict landfill bans and circular construction practices. The Netherlands has pioneered “circular construction” models, designing buildings such that materials can be easily dismantled and reused, and operating facilities that turn old concrete into new building materials. Bangladesh can look to incorporate such practices, especially for its concrete and brick waste. For example, Dhaka could establish a recycling plant to process demolition waste into aggregate for road base or construction blocks – this not only reduces waste dumping but also lessens the demand on natural stone/brick resources. Policy incentives (like requiring large construction projects to use a percentage of recycled material, or to ensure their waste is sent to recycling plants) could jumpstart a C&D waste recycling industry. Given the scale of construction in Bangladesh, this is a significant opportunity to reduce landfill burden and promote a circular economy in the building sector, much as European countries have done.
• Policy Reforms and PPPs: Beyond technical fixes, Bangladesh can strengthen waste management through policy reforms and business innovations. Enforcing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) would shift part of the financial burden onto producers, encouraging eco-friendly product design and funding for waste collection, an approach that has reduced packaging waste in the EU and India. Bangladesh can gradually adopt EPR for plastics, packaging, and electronics. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer another path, enabling private firms to build and manage landfills, recycling centers, or waste-to-energy plants under government oversight. The private sector can also drive innovation—such as recycling startups that create building materials from waste or digital platforms linking waste generators with recyclers. Additionally, integrating informal waste workers into cooperatives or city partnerships, as done in Pune, India, can boost recycling rates while improving livelihoods and working conditions for these essential workers.

Each of these opportunities demonstrates that waste can be transformed from a burden into a resource. Countries like South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, and India have showcased innovations – from ultra-efficient recycling programs to energy recovery and circular design – that Bangladesh can adapt to its own needs. Embracing a combination of these solutions will pave the way toward a cleaner and more sustainable waste management system.

Way Forward

Addressing Bangladesh’s waste management crisis requires comprehensive action spanning policy, infrastructure, technology, and community engagement. The following strategies outline a way forward to realize the opportunities identified and overcome the challenges:

• Strengthening Policy and Enforcement: Bangladesh needs to move from policy to action, actively enforcing the Solid Waste Management Rules 2021 and National 3R Strategy. This includes detailed guidelines for waste segregation, collection, and recycling targets, plus strong monitoring and penalties for non-compliance. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) must be operationalized, holding producers accountable for collecting and recycling their products.
• Investing in Infrastructure: A significant scale-up of waste management infrastructure is essential. The government, with support from partners like the World Bank and ADB, should fund sanitary landfills in each division. Establishing recycling and organic waste processing facilities (composting centers, material recovery facilities, e-waste/hazardous waste treatment plants) is also crucial. Modernizing collection vehicles and improving existing sites will reduce pollution and health costs.
• Promoting Source Segregation and Recycling Culture: Educating citizens and businesses on waste sorting is fundamental. Municipalities should implement mandatory segregation, providing separate bins and training. Incentives (discounted fees) and penalties can encourage compliance. Engaging schools and community leaders will foster a recycling culture. Informal recyclers should be integrated, and markets for recycled products developed.
• Leveraging Technology and Innovation: Technology can optimize waste management. Simple measures include GPS tracking for collection trucks and digital reporting. Smartphone apps can notify residents of pick-up schedules. Bangladesh can pilot mechanized sorting lines and customize AI/sensor technology for local conditions. Innovation competitions can encourage new waste solutions.
• Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: Sustainable solutions require cooperation among government, private sector, NGOs, and citizens. A dedicated authority could coordinate efforts. International cooperation, learning from countries like South Korea and Singapore, is beneficial. Public awareness campaigns and involving the informal sector and local communities in planning are essential for effective programs.

In conclusion, Bangladesh’s waste management landscape, while currently fraught with problems, holds immense potential for positive transformation. By acknowledging the urgency of a rapidly growing waste volume and its detrimental impacts, and by actively pursuing the opportunities outlined (from composting and recycling to modern policy and technology adoption), Bangladesh can chart a path toward a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future. The experiences of other countries show that turning “waste into wealth” is not just a slogan but an achievable reality with innovation and commitment. The way forward will require persistence and collaboration, but the benefits – safer communities, and a resilient environment – are well worth the effort.

References

1. Dhaka Tribune, 2025
2. Waste Concern, 2021
3. Waste Concern, 2021
4. New Age, 2024
5. Mim, F. I., Islam, Md. J., & Abdullah, M. S. (2024). Plastic tsunami: Bangladesh’s maritime ecosystem under siege. Environmental Forensics, 25(6), 471–473
6. Xinhua, 2025
7. International Alliance for Waste Pickers, 2024
8. Reuters, 2017
9. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2022
10. The National Environment Agency, Singapore
11. Green Analytical Chemistry, Volume 7, 2023
12. Advance Researches in Civil Engineering, 2023
13. Chunbo Zhang et.al, Journal of Cleaner Production Volume 266, 2020

Author

This article was authored by Senior Business Consultant Priyo Pranto at LightCastle Partners. For further clarifications, contact here: [email protected]