Nowadays, the government is under increasing pressure to divert solid waste to industrial power generation and it may be argued that we open the door to severe environmental and social impacts once factories start burning rubbish. In a climate conscious world, we achieve nothing by burning more waste somewhere else so perhaps it is time to take a step back and rethink our waste management policies and practices.
Our sarkaar may occasionally run around like a chicken with its head cut off, but operations such as the demolition drive of the Lahore Development Authority or even Laal Masjid in Islamabad give us dark glimpses of effectiveness in between the haze of incompetence that surrounds public sector machinery. If one were to give the devil its due, it would appear that once our government becomes aware of an opportunity, it is quick to seize the day. The fact that things go downhill from there is irrelevant to the recognition our government deserves for sometimes springing into action when the circumstances so demand. Given that opportunities are few and far between in Pakistan, it comes as no surprise that even solid waste has seen our government donning the prospectors hat and heading for gold in them thar hills.
While the potential use of solid waste as compost or for resource recovery is well known, its use as fuel has attracted the attention of our babus and political leaders in recent years. Rising costs of energy provide the context for a range of industries looking to waste for cheap energy production yet all attempts at generating some value out of what is largely considered to be a nuisance to society have ended in failure. Nowhere moreso than in the breadbasket of the Punjab which generates large amounts of agricultural, industrial and municipal waste.
One would assume that Punjab would show some responsibility for its contribution however much of this waste is burnt or ends up in dumping grounds poisoning our land, air and water resources. If only a sense of purpose could inform the speed with which MoUs for waste management are signed, our government would find that creating economic space for the sale and purchase of waste is fraught with dangers, and demands more than the traditional photo-op with foreign delegates.
We have all heard of half-baked waste management projects of the government, or at the very least gotten stuck in a traffic jam when sanitary workers are protesting against privatization. The lack of consultation amongst stakeholders has even led to inter-governmental conflicts between various agencies claiming the right to own or dispose of the waste. Much to the chagrin of dismayed city managers receiving cease-and-desist letters from the federal Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB), the state of governance would lend credence to the fact that Islamabad alone knows what is best for Jaranwala or Multan.
Perhaps sanitary workers and the AEDB may find comfort in knowing that if labour issues and jurisdictional conflicts do not derail waste management projects, our governments own incompetence certainly will. For technical expertise in government departments normally means taking one look at a large neighbouring country to the East of Pakistan and attempting to replicate figures in addition to policy actions. As we failed to analyze our own waste stream, today we have no idea about the sort of waste actually being generated and where it eventually ends up. It is not unlike giving a physician last years blood pressure and our neighbours temperature while expecting a prescription. No wonder the waste management doctors from Turkey, Iran and China never made a house call again.
As long as our government remains unable to account for waste properly it will be deprived of its true value by vested interests that prefer to keep things under the radar. Indeed, kudos are due to the large informal sector which has managed to eke out an existence by sorting through our trash. However the same irregularity which has bred a robust recycling industry also leads to a range of public health hazards such as the bio-medical waste trade or our public dumping grounds. This would suggest that the key task before our decision makers is good housekeeping so that it can harness (not throttle) the vitality of the informal sector before inviting foreigners to a signing ceremony.
An enabling environment for the traditional kabaariya and thousands of scavengers operating in our cities would plug a gaping hole in the governments institutional address while creating the regulatory space to facilitate and coordinate their activities. At the same time, the government needs to purge nefarious elements that exploit the waste management system for fuel pilferage, midnight dumping and fly-tipping. This dirty business is not a policy option rather a policy imperative which comes as a pre-requisite for sustainable waste management. Anything else we do is just a waste of time.
The writer is a consultant on public policy.
