Padlocks used to protect DNCC trash bins
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
They are neither jewelry boxes nor bank vaults. They are not even valuable assets. They are simply garbage containers commonly known as trash bins. Yet chains and padlocks hang from them.
No, the garbage is not being stolen. The lids of these bins are disappearing. Sometimes the entire bin vanishes. Street children and drug users take away these containers meant for waste disposal.
To prevent such theft, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has taken an initiative. The corporation has recently started installing padlocks on all the plastic trash bins it has placed around the city. Although the move has reduced bin theft, it has also discouraged people from disposing of their garbage.
Mahanagar Project is a residential area in Rampura. Just after entering from Hatirjheel, a yellow trash bin with a chain and padlock catches the eye at the entrance to Road No. 7. Upon lifting the lid, a small amount of garbage was found accumulated at the bottom.
Waste collection workers also said that very little garbage is deposited in these yellow and green bins. Why?
Pedestrian Afroza Khanam explained the reason, saying, “These bins remain covered with lids. People have to lift the lids by hand to throw away garbage. This discourages many people from disposing of their waste. In other places, I see some open space on top of or beside the bins where people can throw garbage. There is no such opportunity with these bins.”
Another resident of the area, Rakib, described the same problem. He told Agamir Somoy, “Usually, shopkeepers dump some heavy waste or other items here. Pedestrians or ordinary people probably do not throw much garbage here. I do not throw garbage there either because of the hassle of lifting the lid.”
These bins are generally placed in locations where nearby structures or objects can be used to secure the chains. Because of this limitation, DNCC cannot install the bins at regular intervals.
As a result, less garbage is being deposited in these bins due to people’s reluctance. Meanwhile, the lack of bins at regular intervals is forcing people to dump waste indiscriminately.
An inquiry found that DNCC has more than 500 green and yellow trash bins secured with chains and padlocks. The corporation installed these bins about one to one and a half months ago. Later, it resorted to chains and padlocks to prevent the theft of lids and entire bins.
A survey of several shops in the capital found that the market price of the padlocks and chains measuring one to one and a half feet used on these bins is around Tk 500 to Tk 600.
As a result, people’s willingness to dispose of garbage in these bins has declined while the corporation’s expenditure on protecting them has increased.
At current market prices, DNCC’s expenditure on padlocks and chains for these bins can be estimated at around Tk 300,000. However, an official from the Waste Management Department said the corporation spends even more on padlocks and chains.
DNCC Chief Waste Management Officer Captain Ikhtiar Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, however, believes that these chains and padlocks are not sufficient to prevent theft. He has instructed officials to install better-quality chains and padlocks on the bins.
The DNCC official told Agamir Somoy, “If we do not use chains and padlocks, all the bins will be stolen in a single night. We have been forced to adopt this measure.”
However, he refused to accept the claim that pedestrians are disposing of less garbage in these bins.
Urban planners say service providers must think about how to deliver better services to citizens at lower costs. But the opposite is happening in this case, with expenditure increasing. At the same time, people are turning away from the service.
Urban planner Dr. Akhtar Mahmud told Agamir Somoy, “The city corporation took a similar initiative before. But it did not work at all. This time, they have taken measures to prevent theft. But now the bins will be stolen along with the chains and padlocks.”
The urban planner believes that the responsibility for maintaining the bins should be assigned to a nearby shopkeeper or an individual.
He also said children should be taught to develop the habit of disposing of garbage in trash bins through psychological awareness initiatives at schools and homes.
