Dhaka’s waste-to-energy project faces opposition from pollution-weary residents

Dhaka North City Corporation is pushing ahead with a $467 million waste-to-energy plant that would incinerate up to 3,000 metric tons of trash daily near densely populated neighborhoods, four years behind its original schedule. Residents near the existing Amin Bazar landfill already report breathing trouble and allergies from open burning, and environmental groups project the finished plant would emit tens of thousands of tons of ash and dozens of tons of heavy metals, dioxins, and toxic gases annually.

Rather than tighten oversight, Bangladesh's government lowered the required minimum incineration temperature from 1,000°C to 850°C, a change environmental activists say will produce more fly ash and worse air quality, even as it cuts the plant's operating costs. A state minister defended the project as necessary to manage the city's waste, while nearby communities and an environmental coalition have called for it to be scrapped outright.

Experience from Delhi's similar plants, cited by German state media, shows waste-to-energy incineration there has released heavy metals and contaminated soil near neighborhoods, with residents reporting ongoing health complaints. Dhaka's project is backed partly by Chinese-headquartered multilateral lenders and is owned by a Chinese state engineering firm.

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