We Can Cox's Bazar

Creating a Proper waste management system and reducing plastic pollution.

Cox's Bazar is a tourist place and most people are visiting there once a time in every year. Waste pollution is a major issue in this area. So we have taken an initiative to solve this problem easily. 

In this city, more than 3 lakh people are living in a small city. And it's a municipality of Cox's Bazar. There are more than 4 hundred hotels and 2 hundred restaurants. So that we try to find out the waste management problem in Cox's Bazar. Lately, I made a plan to solve the problem. But some of them take it seriously are some of them laugh. 

We Creating a Proper waste management system and reducing Plastic Pollution of 3000 kg/day of waste generated from households, hotels, restaurants, and other sources. 

1. No Micro Level Waste Management: Wastes generated from households and business entities are not managed by the municipality.

2. Sea Side Dumping zone: Wastes collected from roadside dustbins are stored in an open landfill near the bay of Bengal.

3. Environmental Pollution: It causes plastic Pollution, Air pollution, and water pollution as well as a huge threat to the nearby surface water sources.

4. Civic Problem: All of these are creating civic problems like water logging in streets and drains, stinky neighborhoods, and economic loss by neglecting valuable wastes. 

Solution: Make the tourism capital of Bangladesh a cleaner city by crafting a proper waste management system that allows us to contribute to the circular economy model of waste by reducing and recycling plastic and other valuable materials as well as fertilizers from organic wastes would add extra benefit to our local agriculture.

1. Waste collection from Micro Level: By Providing free separate dustbins for both organic and inorganic waste in households and other micro-level waste sources.

2. Digital Waste management system: We will introduce a website with users accounts to maintain a database of waste generation and management to take evidence-based decisions.

3. Operating Secondary Transfer Station (STS): Collected wastes will be gathered, shorted, and managed in an STS to reduce environmental pollution to avoid an open dumping zone.

4. Public Zone: Creating public awareness by engaging youth in using separate bins for organic and inorganic wastes and making them understand the model of the circular economy. 

I focus only on the Cox's Bazar municipality for the beginning time. And they get our service properly, We will implement this project in Cox's Bazar.

There are many mega projects running. and this city will be a hub of business in the future of Bangladesh. for those, we should start implementing this idea now. Cause this is the perfect time to start. 

My solution gives the proper solution and creates a good practice in their community. My target audience is households of Cox's Bazar municipality, all kinds of institutions and hotels, restaurants, and others. 

And the other thing is that we basically give the two colors of bins where they put their organic and inorganic waste, and the dustbins are totally free for all. Cox's Bazar municipality and others are not collecting the waste from them directly but we are doing this directly, Even if someone wants to sell us the inorganic waste then they can also contact us online as we made it. We collect the waste and they give us 50tk per month.  

As the municipality has more than 3 thousand households. we earn on average 8-10lakh from this idea. 

Myself Omar Faruk. I am the founder of We Can. I established a social organization in Cox’s Bazar. After completing a workshop, my nominee builds up an organization and still working on it to solve the local problem through different initiatives. That is different from others as I nominated Omar Faruk.  

For the first time in Bangladesh, I organized an SDG Youth Summit 2022. I am the peace ambassador of the Earth Society & Global Peace Chain, Co-founder of the Asia Pacific Climate Project, Fellow of the International Peace Diplomacy Corps- South Korea, Social Action Project Leader of British Council Bangladesh, President of USAID, Yes Activity in Cox’s Bazar. I have been working with different NGOs and universities as a researcher.  Currently am working as a Fellow on the national platform of the Clean Air Act & Renewable Energy Advocacy Project- Bangladesh, a Fellow of Awareness 360, and also working as a program officer at SIP Academy India.

I have Participated-International Climate Conference in India-2019, International Study Visit in Indonesia-2019, APFSD Youth Forum in Thailand-2019, Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Youth Conclave-2020, and the Growing Together Capacity Building Program in Denmark & Romania-2021. APFSD Youth Forum 2022 (Virtually), Green Grid Initiative 2022.Green Inclusive Business Champion 2023. 

I am the winner of the Covid-19 Innovation Ideas Competition award by the British Council, the Best Youth award from the District Administration of Cox’s Bazar, the Youth Start-up & Entrepreneurship Competition award by USAID, Social Hackathon award by YPSA, Green Inclusive Business Champion 2023.  

I have also a team who are experts on it and they have also a professional background. 

Before starting this project we been talking with different households, Stakeholders, Mayor, and others. Most people are happy that we started this initiative and collect their organic and inorganic waste from their homes within a few minutes every day. They are happy that we ensure their service and they also share with us that it's a good idea and helps cox's Bazar for ensuring a clean and green city. 

We are 6 people working from the beginning period to now. and also meeting with different organizations and sharing our ideas. Most of the organizations are investing in our project. 

Cox’s Bazar is a tourist with a high population growth after the Rohingya crisis, we have seen the afferent scenario of Cox’s Bazar.  So proper waste management system is a timely need.

I know that some of the businessmen are already in this market and the municipality of Cox’s Bazar also collects the waste. I have the difference that I collect all the organic and inorganic waste from them directly and give them two colors of dustbin freely. Others are doing business for business but are doing business and working to solve the social problem and contributing to achieving SDG and protecting environmental pollution through this initiative. And I also help to minimize the social problem properly. Most important thing is that I have analyzed the market and done it online or offline so that it’s a unique idea and other competitors have no study on it. 

If we implemented a project in Cox's Bazar We can also give them the support to collect organic and inorganic waste from households, hotels and restaurants, and also different institutions. we can earn monthly 1,24,500 from a ward of Cox's Bazar Municipality. If we can implement it in all the wards or the full municipalities then we earn more than 10 lakhs in a month. Here is the temple that how can we earn- 

Total Number of households- 1300

•Restaurant, Hotel, and Institution in a ward- 360

•If monthly subscription fee is 50tk, We earn in a month- 83,000/-

•Total earned from organic waste- 41,500/-

(Per kg organic fertilizer- 25tk+)

•Total earn from in-organic waste-24,900/- (Per kg plastic-15tk+)

•Total Income from a ward in a month-1,24,500/-

•Total Income from Municipality in a month- 14,94,000/-

In my project, people can sell organic and inorganic waste online and also contact us to collect the waste from them online or offline. We use this technology along with this business Model. 

Business Model: 

1. Waste Collection

Separate Bin

Waste Collection Van

2. Digital Management

User Account

Pickup Call and Notification

3. Marketing via Awareness Campaign

Youth Clubs

Institutions

Households

Public Gathering

4. Secondary Transfer Station

Storing

Sorting

Recycling Raw Material

5. Marketable Items

Fertilizer

Biogas

Shredded Plastic

Recyclable Metal

6. End Product

Fertilizer >Vendor > Farmer

Shredded Plastic > Recycler

Valuable Material > Recycler

We are working with 6 people including the Founder. We can empower and connect the 30 youths for the full-time and 12 volunteers daily.  at least in a year and empower them if we can implement this project. And the beginning time we started from an award or area and in the next or upcoming year we also connect others areas and implemented our project. 

We don't have the funds to implement this project. As we need to buy some of these things. We have an expert technical team but we need to improve it and also market in Chittagong as we are selling plastic metal but we are also talking with the local goverment to use plastic in road construction,  

Description

Unit

Amount

Machine

01

3,50,000/-

Van

02

50,000/-

Land

--

2,00,000/-

Website

01

40,000/-

Infrastructure

01

2,00,000/-

Others

--

1,60,000/-

Total

10,00,000/-

Currently, we are actually sharing our ideas with Startup Bangladesh, Green Tech Foundation, and also the Earth Society. They basically will provide us financially and technically. 

Waste Collection: Separate Bin, Waste Collection Van

Digital Management: User Account, Pickup Call, and Notification

Marketing via an Awareness Campaign: Youth Clubs, Institutions, Households, Public Gathering

Secondary Transfer Station: Storing, Sorting, and Recycling Raw Material

Marketable Items: Fertilizer, Biogas, Shredded Plastic, Recyclable Metal

End Product: Fertilizer >Vendor > Farmer, Shredded Plastic > Recycler, Valuable Material > Recycler

We also empower the youth, creating opportunities to do business and jobs. 

We need 1 million to implement this project. if we get the amount then we will start this project and it's a really wonderful profitable business model as well., We also provide them the service and earn them via service also empowering the youth. We also maintain all the government rules as we have in our country to start a business.