A recent study titled “Waste as Resource: Case Study of Lahore and Islamabad” has revealed that 35% of residents of Islamabad and only 10.3% of Lahore segregate waste at the source for economic reasons.
The segregated waste included the selling of plastic bottles, paper, and other materials to a local scrapyard by the household or their domestic help. Other non-sellable materials are disposed of at the community collection point.
The Institute of Urbanism (IoU) and Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) jointly organized a consultative meeting on a research report titled “Waste as Resource: Case Study of Lahore and Islamabad”. The meeting aimed to explore current practices, policies, and gaps in waste management, focusing on the potential of waste as a valuable resource, a news release said.
The findings of the research report revealed that approximately 50 million metric tons of waste are produced annually in Pakistan, highlighting the urgency to adopt sustainable practices.
The survey was meant to find out about the behaviour of communities in Islamabad and Lahore towards waste management. Ms. Ayesha Majid, Senior Program Coordinator IoU, presented research findings and shed light on the gravity of waste-related illnesses. It was alarming to note that 24% of the respondents in Islamabad and 12.3% in Lahore reported burning waste around their locality.It was evident that residents wanted the municipality to initiate waste segregation by providing multiple bin systems in residential areas. Residents of Islamabad (69%) and Lahore (68%) showed their support for adopting waste segregation in households given the infrastructure provision by the municipality. On average 50% were also willing to pay extra for the improvement of waste management services where recycling and segregation were a priority.
