City Report and Action Plan of Faisalabad

Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
District Officer,
Solid Waste Management,
City District Government Faisalabad,
Pakistan

CONTENTS

1. City Report

1.1. Current Status and Challenges of Environmental Administration

Faisalabad's solid waste is currently disposed without any precautionary measures. No treatment of waste is carried out except for incidental recycling by scavengers. No system exists for the separate disposal of hazardous waste. No measures are being taken to negate adverse environmental effects. No facility exists for the treatment of effluent from industrial plants. Textile and grain mills are a major source of air, land and water pollution. Dying processes in the textile industries are a major source of pollution. Noise and offensive industrial odors are also serious problems. Untreated industrial water is the prime cause of pollution.

1.2. Environment in Urban Policy Making

In Faisalabad District a Strategic Policy Unit has been constituted under the direct supervision of the District Coordination Officer. This unit in consultation with other departments of the City District Government helps the City District Nazim and District Coordination Officer to make policies for the District including environmental protection.

1.3. Priority Issues

Inadequate collection of solid waste and unsatisfactory disposal at the landfill site posing environmental degradation and health hazards include the following:

1. Faisalabad City's 2.3 million residents daily generation of garbage is about 1,150 tons, but the lifting capacity of the department is about 900 tons per day. This is because of the inadequate number of waste lifting vehicles available to the department. Most of the vehicles are old and outdated;
2. There are no formal facilities to reduce the size of waste through reuse or recycling;
3. There is no facility to weigh the waste;
4. The primary collection of waste from households and the sweeping of roads is unsatisfactory due to the inadequate number of sanitary workers;
5. The hazardous waste from hospitals and industry is dumped untreated along with the municipal waste;
6. Open dumping is carried out at landfill site.

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2. Action Plan

2.1. Measures to be taken

1. Improvement in primary collection
   At present, 3,115 sanitary workers collect the household waste and waste from roads and streets. Keeping in view the government standard is one sanitary worker for 500 populations, 4600 sanitary workers are required for the primary collection of the waste. Thus an additional 1,485 sanitary workers are required. The number of sanitary workers will not be increased in the coming years. Instead of increasing the number of sanitary workers, mechanical road sweepers will be purchased. Two road sweepers will be purchased every year. This action will be taken because the operation cost of mechanical road sweepers will be less than the wages and other benefits provided to sanitary workers.
2. Door to door Waste Collection System will be introduced in the high and middle class areas, for which cost covering fees will be levied in the first year of the action plan. This facility will be extended to slum areas in the second year of the action plan.
3. People will be educated regarding cleanliness, collection, and segregation of wastes at the household level through corner meetings and through radio and television via local cable network.
4. Pilot projects will be set up for segregation at source. These pilot projects will be introduced in the schools, colleges, universities and government institutions. Paper, cardboard, plastic glass and tin will be collected separately from the other waste.
5. From primary school to university level the students will be involved and taught about the importance of segregation at source and recycling. These students will be used to educate the community.
6. NGOs and private companies will be encouraged to establish community based segregation at source, with separate collection and waste recovery projects in different areas on BOT basis (build operate and transferred). These NGOs or private companies may collect some fee from the community for this service.
7. Waste composting plants will be introduced at the household level or street or union council level.
8. Solid waste management technical system will be improved by purchasing new machinery in the first year of action plan.
   
   1. Dumpers (5 ton capacity): 10
   2. Tractors with front end blade: 4
   3. Bulldozer for the landfill site: 1
   4. Excavator for the landfill site: 1
   5. Front end loader for the landfill site: 1
   This machinery will improve the waste lifting capacity by 150 tons per day and most of the daily generated waste that remains unlifted will be removed from the city on a daily basis.
9. A regular system for weighing the waste at a weighing bridge at the landfill site will be established in the first year of the action plan.
10. A workshop for the repair of vehicles will be improved. At present only minor repair and tire mending facilities are available. Facility for major repair will be provided.

2.2. Improvement of Hazardous Management

Two government hospitals in Faisalabad have the facility for safe disposal of waste through incineration, while other private hospitals and clinics do not have this facility and their waste can be observed at Municipal disposal site (filth depots).

The Government of Pakistan has established hospital waste management guidelines and rules in 2005. In line with these guidelines all hazardous clinical waste will be segregated at source from the non-hazardous waste by hospital administration and will be lifted and transported by the City District Government Faisalabad to the two government hospitals where enough facilities are available to incinerate this waste. Incineration charges will have to be paid by the private hospital. In the forthcoming fiscal year an appropriate vehicle (fully covered, free of sharp edges, with back door locks) will be purchased by the City District Government to carry this waste. Protective clothing and training will be provided to the workers and drivers involved in carrying this waste.

2.3. Industrial Waste

The main industry in the city is the textile industry where white cloth is manufactured, dyed and processed. This industry is the main source of water, air and land pollution. This industry will be shifted out of municipal limits at the beginning of the second year of the action plan.

2.4. Action Plan by Quarters