Background: University of Chittagong's 2100 acres campus is teeming not only with hundreds of thousands of students as well as inhabitants but also with a range of mountains, waterfalls, and affluent biodiversity. But it is a matter of grave concern that waste management is a growing problem of this one of the most naturally resourceful campuses of Bangladesh. The increase in organic solid waste generation has not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in the capacity of relevant university authorities to deal with it.The concerned authority faces a major challenge in establishing an effective and efficient waste collection system. To date most of the waste is not even collected, and the waste that is collected ends up in very problematic dump sites such as No.2 Gate on campus.


There is a general practice of open burning and unhealthy material recovery practices resulting in hazardous emissions that includes dioxins causing serious health problems. Initial findings of the Earth Chapter of the University of Chittagong suggest that there are severe health and environmental consequences. The study shows that this dumpsite is indeed a serious threat to students, residents, especially children living nearby as well as the campus's environment in general.


At the same time, farmers, agro-entrepreneurs, tribes of Hathazari, Chittagong are facing serious shortages in fertilizers and this is compounded by the rise in raw material prices which ultimately result in higher fertilizer prices. There is a real danger of eutrophication of all open water in the Halda river, which is only pure Carp breeding field of Bangladesh, perhaps in South Asia, if artificial fertilizers are to be applied on a large scale in order uplift the agricultural sector from marginal farming to more productive levels. Although more than 50% of the waste is organic in nature, and compost would and could improve the poor soil structures in a very sustainable manner, there are no local composting initiatives to date that use organic wastes.



Goals:


Short Term:

1. Develop a pilot project that demonstrates the viability of waste composting.

2. Raise local awareness of the value and opportunities of composting through education in schools and public outreach.

Long Term:

1. Produce a useful product with monetary value that would at least partially meet the cost of proper waste management.

2. Provide natural, affordable, compost to the agricultural sector rather than the massive introduction of artificial fertilizer that would be associated with a number of environmental concerns (in terms of energy and run-off plus deposits in open water).

3. Substantially reduce the waste to be dumped at the landfill site.

4. Sell out the natural fertilizer to potential buyers such as local farmers, rooftop gardeners,agro-entrepreneurs, farming communities of Tribe etc at a nominal price to keep on manufacturing compost.

5. Provide additional employment for the poor (in waste segregation, handling and storage of matters to be recycled or used as fuel, composting etc.

6. Pave the way of creating a greener and resilient campus as well as a local community with an eco-friendly waste management system, which also explores income sources.

Action Steps:

1. Constructing concrete bunkers on isolated or less congested area in order to produce natural compost.

2. Amassing organic solid waste from dump sites across the campus in association with University garbage collection authority as well as Earth Chapter of University of Chittagong's volunteers to pile up in concrete bunkers.

3. Installing two types of waste bins- such as disposable waste bin and non-disposable waste bin inside campus and local congested areas like kitchen markets whereas non-disposable waste would be transferred to Chittagong city's recycling industry.

4. Forming an Advisory Technical Committee (ATC) within the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Hathazari and the university's concerned waste management authority in collaboration with Chittagong University Earth Chapter to yield fertilizer and engage native farmers, agro-entrepreneurs, farming community of tribe expeditiously.

5. Founding a Compost Plant Maintenance Team of six members (2 from Earth Chapter of CU, 2 from University Waste Management Authority and each 1 from local farming community as well as the DAE respectively) to supervise the manufacturing of compost as well as loading and unloading functions of the plant.

6. Promoting awareness within students, local residents, tribes to utilise compost in nominal price instead of artificial fertilizer to enhance the quality and quantity of harvest as well as arable land within the nature-based solutions.

Results:

1. Waste will be reduced from all over the places, which will contribute to more affluent biodiversity.

2. Income sources will be generated by efficient waste management initiatives by producing compost.

3. The risks of artificial fertilizer will be abated as we are going to replace its utilization with the natural fertilizer.

4. Expenses of crop production of local farmers as well as other potential buyers will be alleviated as the compost will provide in nominal price.

5. General practice of open burning of collected garbage resulting in hazardous emissions causing serious health problems will be shut.

6. Awareness will be created to keep our naturally rich campus waste free within the nature-based solution.