The operation of the waste management plant, located near Jashore-Narail road, has changed the outlook of the area.

Around 40 tonnes of garbage is recycled at the plant and five tonnes of fertiliser is produced every day. Besides, the plant is operated with the electricity it is producing.  

Financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the plant was built in 2018 on a 39-acre plot at a cost of Tk 24 crore. It went into operation in August that year.

“This is the first plant in the country where daily waste is recycled into biogas and fertiliser,” said Azmal Hossain, secretary of Jashore municipality.

Forty-two workers work at the plant every day.  Garbage is collected from Jashore district town, Uposahar union and several areas under cantonment.

The wastes are brought to the plant in trucks. The decomposable and non-decomposable wastes are sorted out here. After recycling, the waste is dried up.

“After netting, fertiliser is produced from one portion and biogas from another,” Azmal said, adding that the fertiliser is stored in warehouses and the recycled biogas is kept in cylinders.

He said an application has been sent to the Department of Agriculture for taking permission for selling the fertiliser in the market. “We’ll sell them if we get permission,” he said.

Jahirul Islam Chaklader Rentu, mayor of the municipality, said the plant has been established for making the town garbage free and keeping it clean.

“Jashore has been declared the first waste-free town in the country thanks to the successful operation of the plant,” he said.