Urgent Improvement Of Solid Waste Management In Yangon City

In Yangon, there are two large open dumpsites (Htein Bin and Dawei Chaung) that collect most of the waste generated in Yangon city, the largest dumpsite Htein Bin is in Hlaing Tharya township, it has approximately 150 acres, from which 70 is estimated already used.  This solid waste disposal site in the north-western part of city is by chance close to the township where most of the neo-migrants have chosen to live in dense informal settlements. On 21 April 2018, fire outbreak began at Htein Bin dump site and it spread quickly consuming more than half of the dump. The blaze was fueled by methane produced by decaying organic and other waste, as reported by PCCD. It was not brought under complete control until May 14. Eight hundred personnel from the Myanmar Fire Services Department (MFSD), YCDC and Yangon Military Command were deployed to fight the fire for more than 3 weeks, which was finally brought under control after it was smothered by 1,850 gallons (about 8,182 liters) of special foam imported from Thailand .Smoke from the nearly month-long fire resulted in a noticeable deterioration in air quality in areas near the landfill and dozens of people, including children, were hospitalized with respiratory problems. Monitoring devices installed throughout the city by the Environmental Conservation and Cleaning Department (ECCD) at Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) showed high levels of methane and carbon dioxide near rubbish dumps. The data also showed high levels of carbon dioxide in the downtown area and of Sulphur-dioxide in industrial zones. Years of people dumping their waste at the site meant it was a challenge for the department to reduce air pollution in the local area, adding that the soil and water on the surface and in subsurface had also been contaminated.Relevance of the proposed project is as follows: Urgency: Since the fire has gutted an area of dump site, the city authority has not been able to ascertain and address the root causes of the fire and take technical action to ensure that the fire will not breakout again.  The fire gutted area and effectively the, entire site is at high risk of potential fire and possible collapse or methane gas explosion at any time again due to underneath heat which accelerate decomposition of organic waste. It has therefore become a known risk to human lives of the people living in the area which requires immediate attention to mitigate the risk in the future. The fire gutted area is at risk of potential future fire. In addition, the entire site is at high risk of potential fire and possible collapse or methane gas explosion at any time again due to underneath heat which accelerate decomposition of organic waste. The city authority, specifically the Mayor of Yangon is calling for an urgent assistance to reduce the risk of fire breakout in the hot summer days of 2019 and beyond and had reached out the Fukuoka city and UN-Habitat. Obligation: Yangon city currently generates mixed solid waste of organic and inorganic materials (which also include medical and industrial waste) that is estimated to almost 2,500 tones per day totaling over 91,000 tons per year. With its rapid growth, the amount of the waste the city generates will continue to increase and cause further risk to the citizens and the environment not only if a fire of such magnitude is to take place again but also if waste continues being dumped into open sites multiplying negative effects. Because of this, the city authority of Yangon considers the challenges of solid waste management (SWM) one of its top priorities. Following the tragic fire incident that lasted more than three weeks, when the fire fighting mechanism of the city felt helpless and the city of Yangon experienced an unprecedented levels of air pollution, the city of Yangon called for technical assistance from UN-Habitat and Fukuoka City. Solid waste management (SWM), and more specifically, rehabilitating the fire gutted areas within the site that is vulnerable to collapse, requires urgent response. The underlying heat and fire may flash back again until remedial measures are taken with scientific principles and practices. To reduce the future risk of fire and consequent health hazard is the obligation of the city authority.Unpredictability: Because the fire gutted site has been used for several years, its capacity is over, and fire hazard mitigation measure has not been taken yet, it is unpredictable if such fire will either reoccur soon or not, however with high degree of likelihood. Therefore, necessary actions must be taken immediately without further delay. And it is for this reason the city of Yangon is urging the project to start its intervention before the summer heat picks up in the city. Un-substitutability: The government authorities (at national, regional and city level) have not been successful in identifying an effective solution to the problem and nor funding sources to rehabilitate and mitigate future possibility of fire in the dumpsite.On the other hand, UN-Habitat, together with the Fukuoka Method team (internationally renowned and well-experienced senior engineers and solid waste management specialists) has experience in improving dump sites in similar situation and conditions in several developing countries and can respond with a plan that will be most suitable for addressing the situation of Htein Bin dumpsite.UN-Habitat has a long-standing presence in Myanmar and is a trusted partner of Yangon Region Government (YRG), Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) and Union Government. It has been implementing several normative and operational activities in Myanmar. The implementation of the Fukuoka Method, under the overview of UN-Habitat country office in Yangon Myanmar, will efficiently respond to the emergency at the Htein Bin dumpsite in Hlaing Thayar, and strengthen the capacity of the YCDC to mitigate the risk and improve the city’s SWM system. The project is designed in a way to closely work with the city officials and concerned experts through provision of technical support. This implies that once the dumpsite is rehabilitated and corrective measures are implemented, the city of Yangon will have capacity to mobilize its exiting resource to operate the dumpsite with sustainability and with minimal risk to future fire. The support of UN-Habitat and Fukuoka City is needed and cannot be substituted in the immediate term as there are no other entities and international cooperation agencies helping YCDC in this aspect of Solid Waste Management.