Eco-Scavenging – An environmental friendly manual scavenging of M. S.W. – A pilot study in Karachi

A pilot scale platform has been designed, constructed and operated to assess the feasibility of an organized and hygienic manual scavenging (Eco-Scavenging) of municipal solid wastes. The concrete platform was large enough to accommodate fourteen scavengers on both sides to carry out the sorting process to separate salable items such as paper, plastics, glass, metals, bread, bones. The manual scavenging was made safe and hygienic by providing to scavengers all the personal protective items such as hand gloves, shoes, rubber apron, cap and mask and following other measures to protect the environment and the health of the scavengers. Under these controlled operating conditions data have been collected to estimate the scavenging speed and efficiency to separate the desired salable items.