Muhammad Luqman

Lahore, the 27th biggest city of the world with over 14 million population, generates almost 7,000 tons of solid waste every day. Of this huge amount of garbage, only 5,000 tons is managed in a formal way.

The solid waste collected by the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) is dumped at Mehmood Booti and Lakhodair landfill sites developed by the city government. “Keeping the ever-sprawling city of Lahore free from the solid waste has become a gigantic task. About 65 percent of the waste is plastic and packaging material, making the task more difficult,” Umar Chaudhary, a senior manager of LWMC, told WealthPK.

He said almost all the solid waste, including metals and glass, was picked by the scavengers working in the informal sector. Only the organic waste and plastic and packaging material is lifted by thousands of workers of the LWMC. “About 3,000 scavenger families are earning their bread and butter by picking metal, glass and even paper from the solid waste,” Umar Chaudhary said.

Raddiwalas (junk buyers) and Pheriwalas (street vendors) are also making their living by buying discarded paper and abandoned metallic and glass items. The generation of this much waste is though a source of environmental pollution, it has created a lot of economic opportunities for the people. Dozens of solid waste recycling units have sprouted on the outskirts of the metropolis. No doubt recycling has emerged as a full-fledged industry on the global level in recent decades.

However, in Pakistan, this opportunity remains largely untapped, even though the country has great potential for start-ups and companies to turn waste into a highly lucrative and environmentally friendly bio-product. Despite a humble start, solid waste recycling still has a lot in store for the entrepreneurs. So, more and more startups are turning to this business and setting up compost production plants.

The LWMC, the provincial government organization, has set up its own plant at its Mehmood Booti Landfill site with a compost production capacity of 1,000 tonnes, producing a manure named “Balia.” The Punjab Energy Department has also initiated plans to install a 50-megawatt waste-to-energy plant at the Lakho Dair landfill site. Under the project, electricity would be generated from solid waste and supplied to industrial units and domestic consumers in a bid to reduce dependence on the expensive power generated from the imported fuel.

The LWMC has already experimented with methane recovery successfully at Mehmood Booti landfill site and has been able to provide the natural gas produced from the garbage to the nearby industrial units. Following the suit of public sector organization like the LWMC, a number of private entrepreneurs have stepped into the recycling business.  They have set up recycling units in the suburbs of Lahore city, converting garden waste and other organic materials into biofertilizer and Refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

The RDF pellets, an inexpensive and environment-friendly fuel, may be a good replacement of expensive firewood and even LPG. “We are converting all the organic waste into useful products, providing a zero-waste solution; Recycling provides solution to the environmental problems,” Muhammad Yousaf Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Enviro-Friends, told wealthPK. He said recycling was the best way to make use of the things which otherwise were generally unmanageable.

“The government should come up with incentives for the recycling industry,” Yousaf Khan said. He said the recycling units, though very insignificant at the moment, might prove a role model for young entrepreneurs and startups, as they can earn a lot from this emerging industry while making small investments.

Credit: INP-WealthPk