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International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/SWMR/10

Analysis and re-design of urban municipal solid waste management operations in
district Vehari-Pakistan
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Rashid Hafeez , Ghulam Mustafa Shah , Wajid Nasim , Zakir Ali , Muhammad Rizwan
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Ashraf , Atika Waqar , Hafiz Faiq Bakhat 1
1 Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari- Campus,
61100 Pakistan
2 Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Sub-campus Burewala,
Pakistan
Correspondence: ghulammustafashah@ciitvehari.edu.pk
Abstract

Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is very important for the better environment and
healthy living of the human beings. In Pakistan, conditions of MSW management are
miserable, particularly in the remote areas like District Vehari. We examined in detail current
MSW management operations in three cities of district Vehari (viz. Mailsi, Burewala and
Vehari), located in South-Punjab Pakistan, and proposed an integrated MSW management plan
based on the results from survey and experiment. At present about 23576 tons of MSW per
year is being generated in Vehari city, whereas this fraction comprised of 38196 and 13028
tones in case of Burewala and Mailsi, respectively. Of this MSW, overall, about 56, 16, 15%
is degradable, recyclable and reusable, respectively. It was also found that about 76-83% of the
generated waste is being collected by TMA, whereas the rest of the waste remains uncollected.
However, the collection plan is very poor and is done during the working hours leading to the
source of disease spreading and greater waste collection cost. Further problems include in
appropriate bins locations, poor condition carts and vehicle, in-adequate and untrained labor
for waste collection and transportation. After collection, this waste is openly dumped at various
places in or outside of the cities without any treatment. During the composting experiment, we
found that co-composting of biodegradable MSW with farmyard manure degraded about 56%
of the initial biomass within 120 days; whereas the fraction was only 6% in case of open
dumping. Interestingly, in the fermentation treatment only about 7% of the initial biomass was
lost. However, the nitrogen and carbon content were relatively greatest in the fermented
materials as compared to the other treatments. These results led us to conclude that after
collection and segregation of this waste in to degradable and non-degradable fractions, the
former part should be co-composted or fermented which can improve the agro-environmental
value of the MSW. The non-degradable part, i.e., glass and plastic, can be exported to the
recycling companies or sold to a local processor for additional revenue. The implementation of
this suggested integrated waste management plan would improve the overall efficiency of the
MSW management system, reduce risks for environmental pollution and disease spreading,
and provide an alternative source of fertilizer for crop and vegetable production.
Key words: Integrated waste management, waste segregation, composting, Nutrient loss,
Agro-environmental value, recycling, and kitchen gardening

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

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