A disagreement between the Bangladesh government and the contractor China Machinery and Engineering Corp. (CMEC) has apparently stalled the implementation of the first-ever waste-to-power project in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. This has exposed a debate about whether the government should proceed with the controversial incineration project.
The contracting authority, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), wants to execute the 42-megawatt electricity project at the Aminbazar landfill site, where the corporation dumps 3,500 metric tons of waste per day.
Data show that Bangladesh’s daily per capita generation of solid waste is nearly 35,000 metric tons, and two city corporation areas of the capital produce more than 7,000 metric tons of waste per day. The average solid waste generation per person in 2021 was 520 grams (1.1 pounds), which could shoot up to 800 g (1.7 lbs) in 2030 and 1.19 kilograms (2.6 lbs) by 2041 as the economy grows.
The city corporation justifies the project, as it cannot find any new landfill site for the increasing volume of solid waste that generates a huge volume of methane, a potent greenhouse gas 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
The government approved the project, and the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved the power purchase deal on Nov. 12, 2020. However, the CMEC has yet to build the basic infrastructure of the $500 million project due to a disagreement with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
According to the conditions negotiated, the CMEC will build the incineration facility for which DNCC will provide 3,000 metric tons of solid waste daily for burning in the incinerator. At the same time, the Bangladesh Power Development Board will buy electricity from the company for 25 years.
However, the project took a new turn after the government promulgated the Solid Waste Management Rule in December 2021.
According to Waste Concern, in 1991, more than 43 hectares (106 acres) of landfill were needed to dump more than 2.3 million metric tons of solid waste generated in the urban areas every year, while the landfill requirement in 2021 stood at nearly 223 hectares (550 acres), causing pressure on land-scarce Bangladesh.
Nearly 80% of Bangladesh’s solid waste is organic, and the hot, humid atmosphere favors turning waste into a wealth of raw material for biogas and organic manure.
What is the row?
Mongabay has obtained a letter the CMEC sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change detailing the row associated with their position.
It said the Department of Environment issued the site clearance certificate for the incineration project, stating that the minimum temperature in the incinerator’s secondary chamber must be 1,000° Celsius (1,832° Fahrenheit), according to Bangladesh’s Solid Waste Management Rule, 2021. But the CMEC wants the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to “modify the temperature requirement in the certificate,” setting the temperature at 850°C (1,562°F) instead of 1,000°C.
The company wrote in the letter that the 1,000°C requirement would not apply to them, as the Solid Waste Management Rule-2021 was published in a public gazette by the environment ministry on Dec. 23, 2021, before the signing of the deal.
The letter said the CMEC project proposal “clearly demonstrated” their intention to use mechanical grate furnace technology, with furnace flue gas remaining at above 850°C.
“If the technical method needs to be changed for the time being, this project will be subversively overturned,” the letter stated.
This specific requirement is based on Solid Waste Management Rule, 2021, “which may not only make this project technically infeasible but also hinder all other similar municipal solid waste incineration projects.”
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, the minister of environment, forest and climate change, told Mongabay that the CMEC representatives met him about relaxing the terms and conditions for the incinerator project.
“But we have not promised them to relax the conditions. Our position is that the incinerator must be burning the waste at 1,000°C, stipulated in the Solid Waste Management Rule, 2021,” he said.
“Without meeting the conditions, we will not issue environmental clearance for the incinerator project,” Chowdhury said.
“There are some concerns about incinerators. We must see whether their fuel would contribute to carbon emissions. If they use renewable energy, we do not have any problems. But if fuel burning contributes to emissions, then we have objections,” he said.
Why 1,000°C?
Abdus Salam, a Dhaka University chemistry department professor versed in air pollution, said incineration itself is a controversial issue worldwide, though there are incinerators everywhere.
“We have seen in the laboratory tests that all organic and inorganic wastes burn at 840°C [1,544°F], but this burning produces harmful black carbon for inefficient combustion. If burnt at 1,000°C, the black carbon goes. Otherwise, it will pollute the air,” he said.
Energy and environment researcher Ijaz Hossain, a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, told Mongabay the government rule on burning solid waste at more than 1,000°C was set to ensure that fumes coming from the incinerators would not pollute the air.
“Burning at 1,000°C needs more fuel. The government is right in its position: If the waste is burnt over 1,000°C, there would be a slim chance of air pollution,” he said.
“Incineration can be more relevant in city-states like Singapore, which is not an agro-based economy. But our case is quite different: Agriculture still employs over 40% of our workforce in Bangladesh,” Ijaz said.
“From environmental perspectives, burning the waste is an unwise decision because our waste is wealth, not a burden,” he said.
The solid waste generated in Bangladesh is mostly organic in nature. And organic waste from vegetables, fruits, other foods, livestock, leaves and more can be used in producing biogas and natural manure.
Waste Concern Consultants, which implemented the world’s first Clean Development Mechanism project in Bangladesh’s Narayanganj district, has been providing technical assistance to produce manure and biogas from solid waste.
More problems?
Abu Hena Md. Maqsood Sinha, managing partner of Waste Concern Consultants, told Mongabay that the Aminbazar incinerator would bring more problems than solutions.
“Every city authority thinks incinerators are the magic boxes: Waste will be burnt, and every problem will be fixed. But this is not the case. Incinerators cause more problems than solutions,” he said.
He said the Aminbazar incinerator project would produce at least 300 metric tons of ash daily.
“The city corporation goes for incinerators as an alternative to landfilling. But where will they dump this huge volume of ash? It means that here we need a landfill site, too,” Sinha said.
“This ash is toxic in nature, containing hazardous heavy metals such as lead, chromium, cadmium and others,” Sinha said, adding, “The fly ash will pollute the environment. If dumped, the heavy metals would penetrate the groundwater and contaminate the soil.”
(This article was republished from Mongabay under Creative Commons License)
Kamran Reza Chowdhury is a Bangladesh-based freelance investigative journalist. He writes about the environment, climate change, agriculture, food security and safety, water issues, health, international relations, politics, parliamentary affairs, maritime issues, refugees, human trafficking and labour issues
