Lahore, Pakistan – Amid growing mounds of waste and increasing pressure on landfill sites, recycling is often considered the life saver in combating Pakistan’s urban waste management problem. But in cities like Lahore where over 6000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated everyday – recycling is a solution that if often overlooked and subsequently underused and underfunded by the governing bodies.
Despite being Pakistan second largest city and highly industrialized, Lahore recycles only 22% (approximately) of its recyclable waste, which is also primarily done through the informal channels and not the official sources. This informal recycling – which is still overlooked by officials and government – generates approximately PKR 271 Million or US$4.5 Million per annum (Batool, Chaudhry, & Majeed, 2008).
In addition to this, according to the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC), the lack of presence of a formal recycling system and the subsequent lack of waste segregation at the collection time reduces the effectiveness of any recycling efforts within the city (LWMC). The LWMC officially manages the collection and disposal of all waste that is collected in Lahore.
When we look at the recycling sector and efforts, it is the informal sector that contributes tremendously to this effort. With an estimated 90,000 waste-pickers spread across the country – many of them being women and children – they have a tremendous contribution and crucial role in collecting and salvaging recyclable material i.e. plastic, glass, cardboard, and metal.
A study further indicates that approximately 30% of the waste collected is being recycled by the informal sector in Lahore (Masood & Barlow, 2014). This is a huge number compared to the fact that no government funding is provided to the informal sector for smooth operations or personal efforts.
Shazia, a 42-year-old waste picker in Lahore’s Shadbagh colony shared her story: “I earn around 300-500 PKR every day by collecting waste items. I have been doing this since the last two decades. I know now which areas throw out more bottles, where can I find metal (a rare find), and where will there be heaps of cardboard. I find it and sell it for recycling. But sometimes, us waster pickers are stopped by police or chased away by guards. It is hard.”
Economic Potential of Recycling
As mentioned above, the recycling efforts of the informal sector generate approximately US$4.5M annually (Batool, Chaudhry, & Majeed, 2008). This shows the economic potential of the recycling business within Lahore only. It gives the idea that there is a completely untapped market which with proper government attention would generate a lot more money than it is already doing – with no assistance whatsoever.
Dr. Atif Rafique, an environmental economist at Punjab University shares his thoughts: “There is a clear business opportunity to be tapped here for recycling. We have the labor force, the demand for the raw material salvaged i.e. cardboard, metal, glass, and plastic, and even the technicalities of the process’ awareness is present. But unfortunately, there is no proper system to scale this up.”
The Clean Green Pakistan initiative under the Ministry of Climate Change started waste segregation awareness drives across numerous schools and offices in Lahore from 2020-2021. But, unfortunately, most of these efforts didn’t have any long term impact because of inconsistent follow up and funding on the project.
In addition to this, in 2018, LWMC partnered with Albayrak – a Turkish company – to introduce colored bins for recycling purposes in Lahore’s posh areas i.e. DHA and Gulberg. Unfortunately, the program was never expanded citywide.
In contrast to Lahore, one of Pakistan’s top cities, other cities like Islamabad and Sialkot have made much more progress in its recycling efforts. Islamabad launched a public-private partnership to operate Material Recovery Facilities while Sialkot’s infamous leather industry has integrated recycling in its export certification protocols.
Public Awareness and Participation
A Gallup Pakistan survey found that nearly 1 in 5 Pakistanis (18.8%) are willing to resort to recycling in an effort to mitigate and prevent climate change (GallupPakistan, 2024). This shows that public perception poses as a significant barrier in recycling efforts across the country and subsequently the Lahore city.
This shows that if proper incentives are not provided (especially in the start), even well-meaning citizens will not make the effort of segregating recycling material. “It is not that our residents don’t care, it is just that they do not know how to participate,” Fatima Akbar Khawaja, environmental consultant.
The Way Forward
According to experts several shifts are needed in order to successfully implement cycling across the city. The
- Appropriate policy creation and its adequate enforcement city-wide.
- Expand recycling infrastructure by creating recycling drop-off points.
- Spread awareness via campaigns launched in schools, media, and religious institutions to encourage recycling adoption amongst the residents.
As Lahore continues to urbanize, the waste it generates with time will only grow. Hence, it is high time recycling efforts are religiously implemented before this problem becomes a full-scale crisis.
References
Batool, S. A., Chaudhry, M. N., & Majeed, K. (2008). Economic potential of recycling business in Lahore, Pakistan. Waste Management 28(2), 294-8.
GallupPakistan. (2024). Daily Polls. Retrieved from Gallup Pakistan: https://gallup.com.pk/post/36643
LWMC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.lwmc.com.pk/
Masood, M., & Barlow, C. Y. (2014). An assessment of the current municipal solid waste management system in Lahore, Pakistan. Waste Management & Research 32(9).
Written by Zainab
Student of Beaconhouse National University (BNU)
