Cleaner Spaces, Healthier Futures: Waste Management in Rohingya Camps

A Mounting Waste Problem

Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh generate more than 100 tons of solid waste each day. Without effective systems to manage it, this waste threatens public health, safety, and the environment.

In response, Community Partners International (CPI) has launched an initiative to help Rohingya communities safeguard their wellbeing through better waste management – while also improving nutrition.

Watch the video:

“There Was Garbage Everywhere”

Diloas Khatun, a resident of Kutupalong Refugee Camp, remembers how bad it was.
“There was trash everywhere. Trash and dirtiness that caused a stench.”

Home to over a million people, the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar are among the most densely populated areas on earth. Without sufficient infrastructure, solid waste piles up within the camps. It blocks drainage channels and worsens flooding, poses serious injury risks – especially for children – and pollutes soil and water with microplastics and other hazardous materials.

Community-Led Solutions

To confront this growing problem, CPI partnered with the refugee community to roll out structured, community-led waste management.

“To tackle these problems, we developed a solid waste management system,” explains WASH Clean Energy Coordinator Bijoy Chondo Jony (Bijoy), “and we’ve made significant progress.”

CPI supplies households in camps 1W, 4 and 17 of Kutupalong Refugee Camp with buckets to separate organic and non-organic waste. Every day, trained Rohingya waste collectors visit these homes to collect the waste, which is then delivered to a processing plant established by CPI in Camp 4.

At the facility, the waste is sorted. Organic matter is composted on-site, while non-organic materials are safely removed for recycling or disposal.

From Waste to Food

“Under our solid waste management system, we process about six tons of waste every month,” says Bijoy. “This enables us to produce about 400kg of compost. We give the compost we produce through this process to community members to help them grow vegetables.”

This boost is critical at a time when food insecurity is rising. Following drastic funding cuts, the World Food Programme (WFP) was forced to reduce monthly food rations for Rohingya refugees to just $6 per person. When rations were cut to $8 in 2023, child malnutrition quickly surged, with over 15% of children affected. The situation has worsened, with a significant increase in cases of severe acute malnutrition among children from 2024 to 2025.

“We Eat What We Grow”

Thanks to the compost, families are now growing their own food and improving their diets.

“We grow vegetables for ourselves and to share with our neighbors,” says Diloas Khatun. “We no longer need to buy them from the market – we eat what we grow and lead a healthy life.”

The environmental impact is just as clear. “The waste management workers have been collecting trash and, thanks to them, there is no stench anymore. And no trash, either. Children can play freely outside without any worries.”

Scaling Up for Greater Impact

Encouraged by the positive outcomes, CPI is now working to expand the waste management service to more neighborhoods across Kutupalong Refugee Camp.

By turning waste into a resource and empowering refugees to lead the process, this initiative is transforming daily life—making camps cleaner, families healthier, and futures more hopeful.

Want to support initiatives like this? Learn more about CPI’s work or donate here to help expand vital programs in Rohingya refugee camps.