01 November 2004	Monday	17 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 31: The city could become much cleaner if the measures being suggested by Gul Bahao, an NGO, are implemented, says Nargis Latif, chief of the organization.

The NGO, established more than a decade back, has introduced a novel idea of cleaning environment by collecting specific garbage - either wet or dry - and utilizing it again through a process of sale and purchase of segregated elements of the stuff.

Pointing out that the metropolis produces some 7,000 tons of mixed garbage a day, the NGO estimates that around 17 per cent (around 1,000 tons) of it is paper. The waste paper is sold at about Rs4,000 per ton which means that trading in this sort of garbage may generate Rs4 million a day.

Similarly, the plastic element in the garbage is an average seven per cent (around 490 tons) of the total quantity. The rate of plastic waste in market varies from Rs6,000 to Rs16,000 per ton. Thus, the earning through the sale of this garbage element may touch the figure of Rs5 million a day.

The organization maintains that junk dealers, known as kabaris have their places of business in the areas far from the city centre. It stresses the need for the establishment of such shops and 'garbage collection centres' close to public places, like Sunday Bazaar, Friday Bazaar, etc., to facilitate sale of garbage by general public. The NGO terms such collection centres 'Safai, Kamai Banks'.

It says that around 4,000 tons of wet garbage is generated every day in the city. Part of the garbage, vegetables and fruits and their peels, could be recycled to make it compost which is used in the growth of plants.

The NGO says that vegetable and fruit peels can be brought to compost stations within 24 hours where the garbage undergoes a simple process for conversion into the compost, which is more viable commercially than the traditional compost. If marketed at Rs5 per kg, the total per day collection may fetch around Rs4 million.

Another idea floated by the NGO is utilization of the sewage free from industrial effluents. The municipal sewage, which is nutrient rich, can be used in watering green belts and vegetable/fruit farms in the city. It can also be supplied to some agricultural land through pipeline.

Nargis Latif says that used plastic shopping bags, which are a nuisance, could also be reused. The NGO has evolved a simple process to manufacture blocks with the plastic waste. The blocks are modular, portable and weatherproof that could be used in raising partition walls and cubicles, as well as in flooring, etc.

She says that a simple way to purify water is to keep it in a plastic bottle and keep it under the sunlight for about a couple of hours. She has some other simple methods through which one can play a role in checking the ever-growing environmental pollution.

According to her, Gul Bahao had started its operations with just two part time workers at its disposal, but now it is conducting training for other organizations, students and the concerned citizens.