Ctg city plans underground waste storage following Finnish model

Chattogram City Corporation is taking an initiative to construct underground waste storage facilities in the city, with the aim of ensuring cleaner streets and a better environment, its officials said.

These underground facilities, which will be used as "secondary transfer stations," will replace open waste bins on major roads. Household waste will be collected and deposited in these underground stations, eliminating the presence of garbage on the streets and preventing unpleasant odours.

Each underground station, modelled after a Finnish system, will cost between Tk2 crore and Tk2.5 crore to construct, said the officials.

The city corporation initially planned to construct underground secondary transfer stations at six locations in the city under a pilot project. Each of the stations will have a capacity of 10 tonnes. These stations, equipped with compactor technology, will compress the waste using hydraulic pressure, reducing it to half its original volume. 

The underground stations will open and close automatically when a switch is pressed. 

When the underground stations are 80% full, an automatic alert message will be generated. Once the stations are full, the waste will be lifted and taken to the landfill. 

Initially, the city corporation has designated Mahajan Ghata at Patenga, GM Gate at Kathgor, Naya Bazar Mor at Halishahar, Almas Mor at Kazir Dewri, and Number Two Gate to build the underground stations. The other such station will be constructed either behind the GEC Convention Centre or on Nur Ahmed Road. 

The city corporation is working towards inviting tenders for the pilot project within the next month, said the officials.

If the pilot project proves successful, a separate project will be undertaken to construct 60 to 70 underground stations at key locations across the city, they said. 

Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rejaul Karim Chowdhury told TBS, "The technology is expensive. However, to achieve a green city or clean city, waste cannot be left lying on the streets. We are trying to fund the pilot project initially from our own resources. We hope to see good progress within the next month."

In August of last year, Finland's Haba Group proposed to provide technical support to the city corporation in constructing underground stations. 

At the invitation of Haba Group the city mayor accompanied by his private secretary and the then-acting chief sanitation officer Muhammad Abul Hashem went on a 10-day visit to Finland on 5 November last year to observe the operation process of the underground waste storage system.

According to a survey on waste, conducted by JFE Engineering Corporation and Yachiyo Engineering Corporation from August 2022 to February 2023, the city produces an average of 2,100 tonnes of waste daily, 68% of which is food waste. Of the wastes, 800-1,000 tonnes are disposed of at the Halishahar landfill, and 1,000-1,200 tonnes are disposed of at Arefinnagar.

According to the city corporation's sanitation department, there are seven secondary transfer stations and over 300 open spaces in the city for waste disposal of various sizes.

The waste is collected from households and brought to the stations and open spaces. It is then taken to the two landfills. The process of acquiring 15-20 acres of land at Fateyabad Ward No 1 is currently underway to establish another landfill.

Latiful Haque Kazmi, chief sanitation officer of the city corporation, told TBS, "Due to the accumulation of waste in open spaces on main roads, many residents have been demanding its permanent removal. Once the underground stations are constructed, the waste will be moved there. The compactor will compress the waste, which will take up less space. This compression will also reduce transportation costs." 

The construction of underground stations is being planned with consideration for the city's waterlogging issues to ensure that they do not get submerged underwater, he said.