Waste to Renewable Energy
摘要
More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have entered in Bangladesh since August 2017 from Myanmar. Hundreds and thousands of Rohingyas are already in Bangladesh altogether as a result of earlier waves of migrationMigration patterns. It is mentioned that there are over a million of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. It seems like a humanitarian emergency considering the speed and scale of this influx. Along with many other problems, the massive amount of waste generated by over one million Rohingyas, especially in Teknaf and Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar district, has become a grave concern for Bangladesh. Moreover, the existing waste management systemWaste management system lacks collection equipment and collection staff and environment friendly disposal facilities. The most interesting things are that illegal throwing away of waste in canals, water bodies as well as the use of uncontrolled and unsafe disposal sites cause soil and groundwater contaminationGroundwater contamination and pollute the air through emissions of uncontrolled burningEmissions from burning of waste. Consequently, the uncontrolled amount of waste generation on one hand, and the mismanagementMismanagement issues of that waste on the other are putting immense pressure on that area, which results in serious environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation and public-health risks not only among the Rohingyas but also in the adjacent host communities. Under these circumstances, considering waste as a valuable energy resource, the present feasibility study was conducted to explore the potentiality of turning waste into energy by using an Omni processorOmni processor. The study also attempted to identify: the amount of waste generation in the study area; the potentiality of the Omni processorOmni processor as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technology for turning waste into energy; transforming human waste into drinking water and a valuable byproduct. Based on qualitative research, semi-structured interviews, FGDs, KII and document analysis were used as instruments to elicit information about the above-mentioned issues. Finally, based on the findings, the study proposed some recommendations so that the existing uncontrolled massive amount of waste generation can be managed properly and thus, protect serious environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation and avoid public-health risks in that area.