KARACHI, March 19: The Managing Trustee of Gulbahao, an organisation dedicated to recycling of garbage, Nargis Latif, said on Monday that the conventional method of collecting mixed garbage and taking it to landfill sites was unaffordable, outmoded and unnatural.

“The situation has become explosive because we are ignoring the agricultural or green aspect of the city as well as its informal cottage industry sector,” said Ms Latif at a gathering of councilors of SITE and Orangi Towns at the SITE Association Auditorium at a seminar arranged by the architecture department of the NED University.

She said research was no longer a luxury but had become a need of the hour, and it was most needed in waste management. She said the scientific and hygienic use of organic waste as fodder for livestock was needed. She said the organic waste was ideal for rearing livestock and nurseries where apart from ornamental plants expensive medicinal plants could also be grown.

She said forestation needed to be done along the new nullahs of the city and its wood grown commercially to be used for growing furniture or fuel so that ultimately less and less sewage water goes into the sea.

“A system needs to be evolved where the union councils may charge fees or rental for the use of organic waste separated at source. For instance, cattle or sheep may be allowed to graze near kachra kundis where organic waste is separated,” she said, adding, the grazing may be done for limited time that is early in the morning or late in the evening.

She said scavenging was not the ultimate answer to the problem but an integrated approach involving junk dealers, councilors, research workers, livestock owners, housekeepers and media was needed.