Reliability and economic analysis of moving towards wastes to energy recovery based waste less sustainable society in Bangladesh: The case of commercial capital city Chittagong

Rapid increase of waste generation in recent times because of booming economy and rapid urbanization aggravating the environmental and social problems significantly, which is the prime cause of unsustainable society in the developing countries. At the same time, the developed countries are motivating themselves to move towards a sustainable society based on zero wastes strategy, circular economy principles, and waste to energy recovery. Waste to energy (WtE) strategy for waste stream management of a city could be a viable option for transition towards sustainablewaste less city. WtE not only reduce the land pressure problem in city areas, but also generate electricity and heat. WtE strategy is also in covenant with industrial ecology principle, because waste from urban human living system serve as raw materials for energy generation system. This paper assesses the energy reliability and cost-benefits aspects of utilizing waste for energy recovery in the commercial capital city Chittagong of Bangladesh. It also presents a social cost-benefit analysis of selected WtE strategy, and compares with the coal-fired power plant. The results indicate that utilizing city waste for electricity generation is socially more cost-effective and sustainable. The findings show that WtE can be a potential component of transition towards sustainable city area management, and sustainable urban community in Bangladesh.