TONNES of garbage has piled up everywhere in Karachi. The Sindh government has been unable to remove it

The provincial government needs to learn a lesson from Sweden and Singapore. These countries have set up power plants for electricity generation from solid waste.

Singapore generates three per cent of the country’s electricity from its four waste-to-energy power plants. The National Environmental Agency of Singapore is planning a fifth waste-to-energy power plant by 2019. It should be a model for other cities like Karachi to emulate.

Sweden imports garbage for generating energy. About 950,000 homes are heated by trash across Sweden. According to statistics from Avfall Sverige — Sweden’s national waste management association — this lowly source also provides electricity to 260,000 homes in Sweden. Less than one per cent of the garbage now ends up in dumps in Sweden. Waste now constitutes 19pc of the fuel used by Sweden that makes it the world leader in generating energy from garbage. It is followed by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway and Finland. In addition, the US generates 13pc of electricity from garbage.

Though garbage-infused smoke sounds highly poisonous, modern electric filters give the particles a negative electric charge which becomes nontoxic carbon dioxide before release. Instead of burning garbage that pollutes environment, the Sindh government needs to set up waste-to-energy power plants to produce electricity from garbage. More than one in four deaths in children under five years of age is linked to polluted environment, according to World Health Organisation.

Delegations from various countries, including Poland, India and China regularly visit Sweden to learn about garbage heat and energy. Pakistan should also send its professionals to Sweden for this purpose.

Developing countries like Pakistan may get access to funding from the UN-affiliated Green Climate Fund to invest in waste-to-energy power plant. Only then will our country, especially Karachi, be able to get rid of garbage and solid waste.

Muhammad Ibrahim

Sobra City, Tarbela Dam

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2017