The urban landscape of Karachi is so frequently dotted with garbage dumps that more often than not, they merge with the sights of the city. A lack of civic sense, coupled with a huge solid waste turn out and little coordination between the parties involved in disposing the waste has resulted in such a scenario.

According to the City District Government, 9,000 tonnes of solid waste is generated in Karachi every day, although a few sources believe the figure is much higher. This waste includes domestic, commercial, construction, demolition and hospital waste. Since most of it is found close to or in the middle of various residential areas, it’s not difficult to imagine the negative impact it has on the residents, both healthwise and psychologically.

Not only do these mounds of garbage give birth to a number of diseases, like malaria, cholera, gastroenteritis and hepatitis, but when burnt, they release toxins that are extremely harmful to health. Furthermore, solid waste kept for too long becomes a breeding ground for rodents and insects, and can even contaminate water.

“Besides the fact that it’s embarrassing to have a pile of garbage sitting next to your house day in and day out, it also means that we are subjected to non-stop attack of mosquitoes,” says Mrs Aziz, a resident of a middle class locality. “The kachra kundi is forever overflowing, while the town municipal corporation empties it on an irregular basis.”

One of the main reasons for this scenario is the lack of coordination between the towns and the CDGK. Until the late ’80s, the responsibility of solid waste management belonged to the municipalities. Later on, the job was divided between the four zones, and then in 1995 between various districts. Today, it is the duty of the 18 towns to look after the collection of the waste in their jurisdictions all the way to depositing it at the two landfill sites, in Surjani Town and on the Hub River Road. From there on, the CDGK levels and buries it.

Unfortunately, with so many hands to change, the chain breaks at some levels. According to a case study published in 2008 on healthcare waste management in Karachi, this arrangement has led to an “abrupt distribution of hardware/equipment, human resource inadequacies, confusion in jurisdiction, paucity of resources and the overall loss of a coherent management approach.” The report also mentioned that the amount of solid waste was expected to rise to 16,000 to 18,000 tonnes per day by 2020. And at this point we are facing trouble battling with the existing amount.

“Out of the 9,000 tonnes, barely 5,000 actually reaches the landfill sites,” says Khuda Baksh, executive district officer, CDGK. However, he is quick to defend the town administrations claiming that it is the lack of resources which has led to such a situation—the resources needed to transfer the waste from different towns to the landfill sites are scarce.