Solid waste management practice in Karachi through GIS techniques

The extreme development of cities and subsequent enlarge in an urban population in recent years has led to a considerable enhance in consumptions and generations of solid waste material in the developing countries. The gradually rising population has led to several solid and hazardous waste issues in the megacity Karachi, due to unsatisfactory policies, laws, political instability, and poor municipal administration. The main purpose of this research work was to assess the issue of population density, waste generation, collection, transportation, and management of municipal solid waste through GIS techniques. The obtained results revealed that rising population density and improper collection of municipal solid waste from collections points had a negative impact on the total volume of waste generation. The open burning and disposal methods were very common to treat the municipal solid waste agenda. The collection of MSW from bins and transportation to a landfill site by vehicles was not accordingly in the city. No transfer station was buildup for the temporary deposition of MSW for further processing for recycling purpose. The private sector was involved in the recycling of MSW on a small scale and paying to afghan waste pickers to collect waste from located bins to dumping site. The workers were proliferating the waste around the bins and on the roads, due to lack of proper training. Overall, the present study indicated that the new advanced eco-friendly technologies viz., modified-composting, smart biochar, plastic tile, plastic roads, energy recovery etc., are urgent needed to manage MSW problems and minimize health issues and environmental degradation.