Karachi’s garbage crisis has reached alarming proportions, with more than 14,800 tonnes of solid waste generated every day – a figure now higher than that of Mumbai, New Delhi and Dhaka.
Reports quoted Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) Managing Director Tariq Ali Nizamani as revealing that District Central alone produces over 3,000 tonnes of waste a day, making it the largest contributor among the port city’s seven districts.
Addressing a seminar on sustainable urban waste solutions, he said that 42 percent of the city’s garbage was organic waste, which could be converted into compost or biogas if proper segregation systems were introduced.
Karachi also accounts for about a quarter of Pakistan’s recyclable plastic waste, he said and announced that the SSWMB’s first biogas plant at Bagh Ibne Qasim will begin operations on December 15.
The facility will process up to seven tonnes of livestock waste daily and provide low-cost cooking gas to 70–80 nearby households at a subsidised rate of Rs2,000 per month. In its next phase, the plant will also generate electricity to help address power shortages at the park.
Another large biogas plant is planned for Cattle Colony to prevent untreated cattle waste from polluting the sea.
He said that heavy vehicles scattering garbage on roads will face fines of up to Rs20,000 once the board receives legal approval to impose penalties.
According to Nizamani, the SSWMB has deployed more than 13,000 workers and over 2,300 vehicles for citywide waste collection. The department now uses real-time technology to track waste movement from households to landfill sites. A helpline, call center and mobile app are available round the clock for public complaints.
He also noted that a World Bank-funded project is underway to build new garbage transfer stations and a fully engineered sanitary landfill for Karachi.