BANGLADESH

Bangladesh can earn around $12 million a year through waste management, according to environment minister Hasan Mahmud, who believes that the annual income is possible through carbon-trading.

Statistics revealed at the signing of a memorandum of understanding for an urban waste management project on Tuesday show that roughly 4.8 million tonnes of waste are produced daily in the 288 towns in the country.

Organic wastes make up 78 percent of the total daily produce, decomposition of which leads to the emission of 2.01 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over a year.

"Processing the organic waste through the method approved by UNFCCC could lead us to lowering that high carbon emission. Bangladesh can sell carbon credit at $6 [per tonne of carbon emission] in the world market and earn $12 million a year," the minister said.

According to the Kyoto protocol, each country is given the scope to emit carbon in ratio to its population. So if any country emits less, they can sell carbon credit to other countries.

The project, named Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), aims at tackling the effects of climate change and lowering emissions by urban waste management.

The Department of Environment (DoE) will implement this project with assistance from Denmark. DoE director general Monowar Islam and Danish ambassador to Dhaka Svend Olling signed the memorandum.

The North European country will provide Bangladesh with technical and specialist support in drawing up the project's concept paper and its implementation. In return, the Danish government will be given priority to buy, at the international market rates, the carbon credit put up by Bangladesh for sale.

Bangladesh will only be able to sell to other countries when Denmark declines.

Hasan Mahmud said, "Waste management is the responsibility of the city corporations. However, they and the local government organisations can only manage half of the wastes produced. The remaining half is unmanaged and emits carbon, which is harmful."

"Using modern technology to manage wastes would also allow us to generate power," he added.

The project will initially be implemented in Narayanganj City Corporation, Gazipur, Mymensingh and Cox's Bazaar municipalities. The project will later be implemented at all 64 districts over the next eight years.

Funds worth a total Tk 139.1 million have been disbursed from the climate change fund for the project's implementation, which will be used to set up compost plants, buy waste transport vehicles and meet transport costs.