Karachi’s waste problem is usually measured in tonnes. The city generates an estimated 14,800 tonnes of municipal waste every day. But the real story begins after the first tonne leaves a household. It travels through neighbourhoods, onto roads, into trucks, through transfer points and eventually to landfill sites. At every stage, something is lost-money, recyclable material, environmental safety and, sometimes, public health. Karachi therefore does not have only a garbage problem. It has a waste-management problem.

The quantity itself is becoming difficult to ignore. Estimates have varied over the years because different studies use different definitions and methods. Research has placed Karachi’s daily generation above 15,000 tonnes and, in some assessments, above 20,000 tonnes. Recent official estimates are around 14,000-14,800 tonnes. Rather than arguing over one number, the more important message is that Karachi is producing millions of tonnes of waste every year, and the volume is unlikely to decline without a deliberate change in consumption and disposal patterns.

That growth has consequences beyond the number of trucks required to collect it. More waste means more workers, vehicles, fuel, transfer capacity, machinery and landfill space. It also means larger public expenditure. If Karachi continues to add thousands of tonnes to its waste stream, the city will eventually have to spend considerably more simply to move and dispose of what its residents throw away.

Every plastic bag that enters a drain has the potential to become part of a much larger urban problem.

Every plastic bag that enters a drain has the potential to become part of a much larger urban problem.

But not everything in those tonnes is actually waste. Studies of Karachi’s waste composition indicate that organic material forms the largest share, while paper and plastic also make up significant portions. One detailed study estimated organic waste at about 47 per cent, paper at nearly 16 per cent and plastic at more than 11 per cent. The exact proportions differ between studies and locations, but the larger point remains unchanged: a sizeable part of Karachi’s........

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