The cost of cleanliness: shifting from free to paid waste services

For residents of Joypurhat Municipality’s Ward 6, waste collection was unpredictable at best. Some mornings, the collection van arrived; most days it did not. Waste piled up near homes and along drainage channels, obstructing water flow and, on occasion, contributing to flooding. There was an urgent need to improve and expand waste management services, but user fees had to be introduced to fund them.

“We paid our municipal taxes,” says Rima Akther, a homemaker. “We assumed collection was included.” Meanwhile, Joypurhat Municipality was losing roughly BDT 7–8 lakh each month on solid waste collection, road sweeping, and drain cleaning.

Joypurhat serves more than 84,000 residents across nine wards (23,000 households). Then, free door-to-door waste collection only reached 5,900 households—roughly a quarter of the population. The service was costly and inefficient. Most households did not segregate waste, landfills were nearing capacity, and the municipality lacked the resources to expand services.

Beyond Joypurhat, rapid urbanisation and rising waste volumes are putting significant pressure on municipalities across Bangladesh. By 2040, the country’s urban population is projected to reach nearly 95 million. Although national policies on source-level waste segregation and landfill management exist, implementation remains uneven.

These challenges raise a central question: how can municipalities deliver reliable, sustainable waste and sanitation services amid limited capacity and constrained resources?

Miles away from Joypurhat is Kushtia District—a district that has seen important shifts in scaling safely managed water and sanitation services. For over eight years, SNV has been supporting capacity development initiatives in the district, advising and co-developing an integrated sanitation business model.

Under the agreement, ERAS would provide door-to-door waste collection and faecal sludge management services in four of nine wards: Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8; covering nearly half of Joypurhat’s residents. ERAS would pay BDT 50,000 to the municipality as a lease/security fee for a five-year solid waste management contract. For faecal sludge management (FSM), the partners agreed that 10% of ERAS’ monthly FS revenue would be transferred to the municipality. Capital costs were shared between partners, with SNV supporting small-scale infrastructure works.

Two municipal staff were assigned to oversee service delivery and ensure compliance with national standards across the four wards.

Tiered service fees became central to the new model. Under this arrangement, most households would pay BDT 100 (EUR 0.78) per month, while low-income households—identified by ward officials—would pay a subsidised fee of BDT 50 (EUR 0.39). Commercial establishments paid higher fees because of the greater volume of waste they generated.

The fee structure was developed based on the findings of an earlier SNV action research study that calculated the cost of door-to-door waste collection services and the average cost-recovery requirement. To ensure affordability, the municipality offered a subsidy mechanism for low-income households in place of the previous blanket free-service model.

However, introducing fees for a previously free service was always likely to face resistance. Recognising this, the municipality launched an awareness-raising and marketing campaign during the second half of 2025. Residents were informed that waste collection would be managed by a private operator, households would need to pay monthly service fees, waste should be segregated at source, and septic tanks should be emptied mechanically.

Over time, perceptions began to shift.

“Before the PPP, our waste collection reached barely a quarter of households. Now, with ERAS and SNV’s support, we are serving over 11,000 households and saving the municipality money. This is a model we want to scale.” — Mr. Uttam Kumar Roy, Administrator, Joypurhat Paurashava.

Waste collection services are now provided regularly across the four wards. The number of household payments has increased steadily, with monthly fee collections increasing by BDT 2,000-3,000. Open dumping near drainage channels has declined, reducing foul odours and the spread of waste and pathogens.

Alongside waste (trash) collection, demand for faecal sludge services has grown. Residents can now request services through hotlines rather than visiting municipal offices. More than 100 sanitation service requests have been completed since the start of the year.

The municipality is now saving around BDT 2.5 lakh per month, funds that can be reinvested in waste infrastructure. For example, plans are underway to upgrade infrastructure for the recovery and reuse of biodegradable waste, helping to curb methane emissions.

Joypurhat’s experience shows how municipalities can shift from fragmented, free services to an integrated and more reliable paid system for waste collection, source segregation, and safe waste management. The partnership with ERAS Ventures Ltd. demonstrates the value of private investment, while the awareness campaign highlights the role of community engagement in supporting circular waste management.

External validation has already arrived. On 22 February 2026, a high‑level delegation from the Integrated Urban Governance Improvement Project, led by Mr. Tofail Ahmed, Project Director, visited Joypurhat to review the PPP model. He remarked: “Joypurhat can be one of the best examples in Bangladesh for managing waste efficiently.”

As urbanisation accelerates across Bangladesh, decision-makers face a clear choice: continue subsidising inconsistent services or transition to models built on shared responsibility. The Joypurhat business model is now being assessed for replication in other cities across Bangladesh facing similar constraints.