The fecal sludge treatment plant (FSTP) project in Nilphamari municipality has been shut down due to shortages of modern machinery, skilled technical staff, and waste segregation systems. The Tk 11 crore project, designed to reduce environmental pollution and produce organic fertilizer from human waste, has failed to deliver expected results and is now non-operational.

According to municipal sources, the FSTP was built in 2023 on 2.89 acres of land as part of a planned sanitation initiative. It aimed to collect human waste from households and institutions using vacuum tankers, treat it in an environmentally friendly way, and convert it into organic fertilizer. However, the plant could not function effectively as collected waste remained untreated and piled up.

Officials cited the absence of modern equipment to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste as the main obstacle. With about 95 percent of the collected waste consisting of plastic and other non-degradable materials, manual separation proved impractical. Authorities noted that proper machinery could enable fertilizer production and generate municipal revenue.