SOLID waste management is one of the serious issues of Karachi. The biggest city of Pakistan produces around 12,000 tons of solid waste daily most of which is not disposed of properly and to be seen on the streets.

The recent rains saw Karachi nearly drown in its own filth. One reason for this was that the city’s solid management department dumps solid waste in the drains and seldom bothers to clean and dredge the sewerage drains.

We need to adopt Sweden as our role model. This country recycles almost all of its waste and only one per cent of the waste is dumped in landfills! In our case it has become a norm for aquatic animals dying because we are dumping untreated raw sewage directly into the sea.

The public needs to be educated. They need to know about organic and inorganic garbage and in every single house there should be different dustbins to dispose of separately plastic, glass, paper and organic waste. From that point onward we will be able to get to grips with our garbage issue.

Muhammad Zeeshan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2020