Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat Analysis of Solid Waste Management at KUET Campus

Abstract

Waste management is a method used to reduce waste, mainly by means of source reduction and includes the recovery, recycling and reuse of waste products. The advantages of management are both eco-friendly and economically extensive, such as saving dumps and creating jobs. Integrated solid waste management (SWM) can be described as the selection and use of suitable engineering and management alternatives to achieve waste management goals. SWOT analysis is a great tool for this approach, which is one of various ideal planning tools for organizational management to ensure that clear goals are recognized for a project to recognize all the factors associated with positive and negative initiatives. To achieve this task, the process includes four factors namely Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats which are rated using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). This study explains SWM at KUET campus and may also be an innovator in solid waste management in other universities in Bangladesh.

The rate of solid waste generation has been observed as 0.099 kg/capita/day excluding construction, demolish and street sweeping waste, in which food and vegetable, paper, and plastic waste has been noticed as 52.04%, 42.01% and 3.70%, respectively. Some lemon peel, eggshells and others waste also has been produced as 0.30%, 0.20% and 1.75%, respectively. The average paper waste went into the market has been found as 63.34 kg/month which is very less compared to that of paper waste and the average plastic waste which has been given in to the market has been as 51.75 kg/month which is the 17.41% of plastic waste generated at this campus. The average monthly compost at solid waste management plant (SWMP) in KUET campus has found as 48.57 kg/month.

SWOT analysis of SWM has been performed through field level investigation, laboratory tests and questioner survey. There are nine strengths, six weaknesses, four opportunities and five threats of SWM at KUET campus have been identified. Door to door collection, Recycling, Composting, Transportation of Solid Waste, Manpower and equipment for SWM, Sorting of Solid Waste, Enforcement and Awareness for SWM, Financial support for SWM, Burning system of sanitary SW has been found as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth strength, respectively. Recycle of low density waste like paper and polythene, Burning Temperature at Burning Unit and Related Air Pollution, Training Program among Staff and awareness program among stakeholders, Roadside Construction Waste Deposition, Route Selection for Collection and Transportation of SW, Time for Decomposition of Degradable SW during Composting has been seen as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth weakness of SWM, respectively. Market Based Recycling of SW, Resource Recovery from Citrus Peel and Eggshells, and Route Selection for SW Collection and Transportation has been observed as the first, second, third and fourth opportunities in case of SWM at KUET campus. Damages of Equipment like Rickshaw-van, Damages of Roadside Waste Bins, Difficulties in Transportation of SW to the Ultimate Disposal Site, Damages of Waste Management Plant and Accidents among staff in Collecting, Transporting and Sorting of SW has been noticed as the first, second, third, fourth and fifth threats at this campus for SWM.