Showcasing Zero Waste Village

ESDO initiated the pilot project “Building Zero Waste Communities for a Pollution-Free Environment in Bangladesh” in 2020, intending to build a zero-waste community to reduce health risks, improve the well-being of the community, and address the problem of waste mismanagement. Since then, ESDO has been impactfully conducting this project and has succeeded in developing a model of a “zero waste community” in Betgari Union, Rangpur, Bangladesh. 300 households (150 families at Betgari Union and 150 at Rangpur) are practicing domestic waste segregation and composting in their backyards using the ‘Twin Pit Earth Composter’. The compost they prepare from their kitchen waste is used in their agricultural field, where they practice organic farming. This ensured organic food production and soil health management while ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. Through the 4R strategy (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Refill), ESDO was intent on educating Bangladesh’s rural population on the importance of waste segregation, how to reduce the impact of environmental pollution in their daily lives, and how to increase their capacity for adaptation to the world’s rapidly changing climate. ESDO intends to document the stories of these zero-waste communities to celebrate their accomplishments in International Zero Waste Month and highlight the achievements of the zero-waste communities in front of the policymakers and other communities of Rangpur so that the policymakers are sensitized to push zero waste in national policy and the communities get inspired to lead a zero-waste life.