Rapid urbanisation in Bangladesh has outpaced local governments’ capacity to manage municipal solid waste, with most areas still relying on open dumping that releases methane and, in coastal tourist cities like Cox’s Bazar, worsens drainage blockage and damage to marine ecosystems. Household waste segregation remains largely absent, limiting opportunities for recycling and resource recovery. This study tested whether distributing simple colour-coded sorting bins, a green bin for organic kitchen waste and a blue bin for dry recyclables, alongside an existing cluster-level waste collection system, could improve household waste management behaviour. Conducted between August 2025 and January 2026 across 80 clusters in Cox’s Bazar Municipality, the randomised trial assigned 40 clusters to treatment and 40 to control; all clusters received large collection drums and informational leaflets, while treatment households additionally received the pedal bins. The intervention produced a 31 percentage point increase in source-sorting of wet and dry waste, a 24.1 percentage point increase in daily use of collection drums, a 14.7 percentage point increase in the sale of recyclable materials, and a 13.6 percentage point increase in at-home reuse of recyclables. Combined with organic waste bioconversion through a Black Soldier Fly larvae facility, the programme avoided an estimated 6.43 tCO₂e in greenhouse gas emissions over six months, demonstrating that low-cost, household-level tools can meaningfully advance urban waste management and climate goals.
Authors: Barua, Proloy; Bhowmik, Prataoy Kabya; Sonia, Khadija Akter; Rashid, A M M Fazlur; and Sulaiman, Munshi
Type: Policy Brief
Publisher: IGC
Year: 2026
