Waste Concern

Waste Concern (WC) supports the design, construction and operation of integrated resource recovery centres (IRRCs) that can convert waste into fertiliser, biogas, refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and electricity, as well as other recyclable products using a public-private partnership approach. IRRCs can also treat faecal sludge collected from onsite sanitation facilities.

WC supports fertiliser companies to purchase and market compost-based biofertilisers nationally. It provides training and capacity building in the replication of the IRRC model in developing countries and is promoting resource efficiency through the implementation of IRRCs to achieve sustainable development goals. WC is operating the first Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)-based composting project globally, which has the capacity to recycle 130 tonnes of waste per day. It is assisting several cities in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan, India and Viet Nam in replicating their IRRC model.

WC opened a regional recycling training centre in Dhaka in 2010 for the benefit of local and international participants. In 2011, the Government of Bangladesh started implementing WC’s IRRC model using a programmatic CDM approach for 64 districts in the country. In 2016, WC designed the first integrated regional landfill and resource recovery facility in Bangladesh, which can treat and recycle both solid waste and faecal sludge using multiple technologies, such as aerobic composting, anaerobic digestion, drying beds and trickling filters for the treatment of faecal sludge and wastewater.