‘Solid waste should be deemed as opportunity instead of crisis’

Rawalpindi:The speakers here on Thursday were of the view that waste management has always been looked as an issue from the lens of crisis which instead should be deemed as an opportunity. They said waste provides lots of openings to stakeholders who should realize that if it is treated as a business model around the world, then the time has come when it should be treated like an opportunity in Pakistan too instead of a crisis, says a press release.

Speaking at an event to mark the 8th anniversary of Integrated Resource Recovery Centers in Pakistan set up by Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Trust in B-17 they were of the view that the enormous volume of municipal solid waste generated daily in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad is causing environmental degradation and the authorities concerned should take the bull by the horn and address the serious issue to avert an environmental disaster. Current practices of dumping waste is creating environmental disasters and contributing towards climate changes.

Commissioner Rawalpindi LIaqat Ali Chattha was the chief guest of the ceremony which was presided over by Multi Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS) President Mohammad Aslam Rao, while the guests of honour included MPCHS Vice President Chaudhry Zafar Ali, MPCHS Secretary Chaudhry Nadeem Sarwar, AHKMT CEO Sumaira Gul, AHKMT Board Members Edwin Samson, Almas Shakoor, e-Guard CEO Hamid Ullah and Bilawal Khan.

Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner Rawalpindi Liaqat Ali Chattha said that he was pleased with the work of AHKMT, and stressed the need of taking small steps to address the issue of solid waste. He recalled how urbanisation has led to the massive growth of Rawalpindi’s population that has dealt a blow to the expectations of city planners. Regretting that waste management had never been a priority of city planners, he hoped that the time has come to address this serious issue more seriously and IRRCS should be replicated in rest of Pakistan.

He also pointed out that being commissioner of the Rawalpindi district he will try to replicate IRRCs in private housing societies as well as public sector in Murree, Jhelum, Attock, Gujjar Khan and Rawalpindi.

In her keynote speech, Sumaira Gul, shed light on journey and achievements of Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Trust. “Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan Memorial Trust has established Integrated Resource Recovery Centre (IRRC) setups in Islamabad, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The IRRCs established in Sakrand, Sindh, Islamabad and Mardan have proved fruitful and our journey is expanding and now we are working on establishing IRRCs in Hazro Attock and Haripur,” she said.

Speaking on the occasion, Multi Professional Cooperative Housing Society (MPCHS) President Mohammad Aslam Rao also appreciated IRRC team and said, “It is an environment friendly model and it provides opportunities to societies like us adding to the value of our housing schemes besides helping the societies earn appreciation from government organizations like Pak-EPA and Capital Development Authority for processing solid waste instead of dumping it.”