Poor waste management in Pabna fuels environmental degradation 

PABNA, July 24: Residents of the Pabna town are enduring severe hardship stemming from inadequate waste management, a situation that is now exacerbating local climate and environmental challenges. 

Municipal authorities have reported that vast quantities of household, industrial and clinical refuse are being dumped in open spaces, leading to blocked drains. This has triggered a host of problems, including water-logging, foul odour and the spread of disease.

Pabna generates an estimated 75 tons of waste daily, yet the municipal authority collects and disposes of only about 45 per cent of that total. Waste is gathered from households either by residents themselves or by municipal workers and transported to nearby bins or collection hubs, such as New Market, Fire Service Road, Square Godown Morr, Jel Khana Morr, Mannan Miyar Goli and Khamar Bari. From there, it is taken to the open dumping site at Fakirpur. 

The remaining unrecovered waste is abandoned on streets or left in overflowing bins, often ending up in open drains due to a critical shortage of labour and vehicles for collection and haulage. This refuse is subsequently scattered by birds and stray animals near collection points, posing serious health risks and polluting the surrounding environment.

According to the Pabna municipality’s Cleanliness and Waste Management Department, a total of 375 workers�"comprising 220 sweepers and 155 cleaners�"are currently responsible for maintaining city cleanliness. Officials have stressed that this number is grossly insufficient for a municipality of this size.

As a Class-A municipality covering 15 wards and hosting over 200,000 residents, ensuring proper sanitation with only 375 staff members presents a monumental challenge. International and national urban planning guidelines recommend at least one sanitation worker per 500 to 700 citizens. By that standard, Pabna would require 400 to 450 sweepers alone�"already exceeding its entire current waste-management workforce. Spread across the 15 wards, this leaves an average of just 24 to 25 workers per ward, far too few to effectively clear drains, narrow alleyways and main roads.

Agriculturist Zafar Sadik has proposed that organic waste could be treated to produce compost, which would both reduce overall refuse and enhance soil quality. Recyclable materials, he added, should be recovered for reuse. A door-to-door collection system, he suggested, could deter people from littering streets or dumping near bins. He also called for an adequate number of containers to be placed conveniently, with regular emptying to prevent spillage and drain blockages. Finally, he urged authorities to adopt a safe and sustainable disposal method rather than continuing with open dumping.