Dear Ms. Fatima,
Many thanks for your valuable queries. We are answering according to your questions:
While reading your application you listed as one of your challenges the land’s scarcity for setting up composting plants inside the urban area. You said that usually this land is provided by the public sector and that might be the difficulty. What other sources for land have you considered or could you use?
Compared to other cities, Dhaka is a land hungry city and availability of land for decentralized composting is a major challenge. Initially, in 1995 we managed to use (free, without any rent) a piece of land inside Dhaka city owned by Lions Club (an international philanthropic organization) located in Dhaka to experiment with our concept of community based decentralized composting model. After seeing its success, Public Works Department (PWD) and Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) of the government willingly supported us with a number of vacant lands (150 m2 to 400 m2) located within Dhaka city. Here, motivation of public sector to let us use their land was to reduce their burden, cost and enhance their image. Later after demonstration effect of Dhaka city, other small towns were encouraged to let other private operators to use their vacant lands for similar projects. Here the public sector remains the owner of the land, they are only allowing others to use the land for composting purpose. After having proven model of composting system and ensured market of compost, private operators outside Dhaka city (outside Dhaka land price is reasonable) are procuring land for compost plants as a long-term lease basis and even in some instance purchasing land from private owners. Recently, Waste Concern has also come into a long-term lease arrangement with a private landowner for its 8-ton capacity composting plant in the fringe of Dhaka city. Most recently, harnessing the benefit from the sale of carbon using Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Venture of WWR and Waste Concern is purchasing a 7 hector privately owned land for the purpose of establishing a 700 tons capacity composting plant in the fringe of Dhaka city.
There was a common perception by the government officials that there is no land available inside the city to accomodate decentralized compost plant. To challenge this wrong perception with the support from RUDO/USAID-South Asia, Waste Concern conducted a survey in 1998 to varify whether there is enough land for composting. Study showed that even with one of the highest density Dhaka city, it has enough unused/fallow government land to accomodate community based composting plants inside the city.
Would it be possible to establish partnership with individuals or private companies that own land where composing plants could work and in exchange pay them a fee or allow them to have a percentage of the income? At present there are no such experiences of partnership between individuals or private companies that own land. But, composing plants being replicated in other cities are having the experience of Municipal Owned and Privately Operated (MOPO) experience where municipalities has constructed the composting facilities with the technical support from Waste Concern. Municipalities (land owner) are sub-contracting this community composting plants to local NGOs or private sectors in exchange of royalty. We believe in near future partnership between private landowners with individuals or private companies may take place in Bangladesh.
Also, what do you think the best strategies to commercialize the compost are? Why do you consider that the public sector should be the one in charge?
We never considered the public sector to be in charge of marketing of compost. Public sector can create conducive environment for marketing of compost by positive agriculture policy where compost and enriched compost are promoted by tax incentives or subsidy. Instead of marketing compost by ourselves, we established partnership with an experienced private chemical fertilizer marketing company having extensive network of sales center all over the country. Map Agro a private sector markets two types of compost one is fine raw compost and another is enriched compost (enriched with chemical nutrients based on crop and soil type). Map Agro markets it product by Alpha Agro. This compost became very popular among farmers because they have to invest less and can grow more with enriched compost and in the long run it helps their soil to regain its organic matter and improve soil structure. Here, it should be mentioned that fertilizer marketing is based on credit basis and trust. Local dealers of fertilizer sales the fertilizer on credit basis and farmers repay back as soon as he harvest his crop and this whole trade is based on trust and experience shows that farmers repayment is very much satisfactory. Could not other agents intervene in this process? What about private companies interested in Social Corporate Responsibility projects? At present apart from one single private marketing company, Waste Concern is trying to involve more private companies to market its product all over the country. Initially, private both the Map and Alpha agro were not interested to market compost project, because it was not a conventional product. Later, Waste Concern motivated the owner of Alpha Agro to deal in compost product, which brought financial benefit as well as enhanced corporate social image as they were marketing an environment friendly product. Initially Waste Concern came into a contract of 200 tons per year in the year 2000, today Map and Alpha Agro are demanding 50,000 ton of compost per year from Waste Concern.
Finally, one more challenge that I’d add is related to all health requirements and benefits that employees working in the composting plants must comply with and receive. Do you receive any special support from the health ministry of your country or the appropriate government authority for this matter? How do you ensure that employees work under healthy conditions while they’re at the plants?
Initially all the workers previously dealing with waste recycling were exposed to mixed waste with chance of potential toxic or infectious waste inside it. In our compost plants waste is not mixed with other commercial, industrial or clinical waste with potential danger. Waste is collected through house-to-house waste collection system from the community, where each and every household under the service pays monthly charge (US $ .25 to .30 per month/ households/month). Field workers and waste collectors regularly motivate the community people to segregate their waste into organic, inorganic and toxic fraction. Waste coming to the composting plant is only coming from the households and vegetable markets not from any healthcare facility or industries. No, we did not receive any support from the ministry of health regarding health issue. In the compost plant Workers are provide with protective groves, boots and mask to give them protection from any possible germs. Compared to previous working condition these workers has fewer occupational hazards during activities carried out inside a composting plant. Waste Concern provides regular health check-up for the workers. Waste Concern has been monitoring the health of its workers directly involved in composting plants. Workers directly in contact with waste are provided with proper training on identification of waste, proper hygiene & washing and housekeeping of the composting plant. So far, accept minor cuts and one incidence of broken limb of a worker, no health hazards were found in the workers.
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