Impacts of Improper Waste Management on Marginalized Communities: A Study on Kanishail Slums in Sylhet City

Improper waste management is a critical problem facing marginalized communities, especially the dwellers in slum areas in developing countries. This research focuses on environmental, social and health effects of improper management of waste in Kanishail slums of Sylhet City. In this study, a quantitative method was applied and respondents from the slum areas responded to structured questionnaires. Targets include population density, socio-economic issues, substandard hygiene structures and ill practices of waste disposal. The studies show that individuals occupying the slum areas have poor attitudes to the disposal of wastes; they practice open dumping and burning of wastes. It results in air, soil, water pollution as well as has negative impact on human health and they include respiratory diseases and skin diseases among others. Also these environmental challenges interfere with people’s lives and increase their living standards. The study therefore underscore the need for intervention measure such as awareness creation on efficient waste collections by the urban municipalities, support for community based management of wastes, better support for recycling. There is also a need to invest in rallying support for awareness and in- formed health campaigns. This research advocates promotion of participation of the affected communities into sustainable waste management practices and into urban development plans for a fair environment and quality living. This paper advances the understanding of how improper waste management exacerbates to the social risks of slum dwellers by identifying specific ways in which enhanced waste management can better serve people in Sylhet City.