Kathmandu's waste management involves a complex interplay of formal, informal, and supportive actors:
Formal Government Bodies:
- Local Governments (Municipalities): Primarily responsible for waste collection, segregation, and disposal. Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is a key actor, generating a significant portion of the valley's waste. Other municipalities like Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Bharatpur, Nepalgunj, and Dhankuta are also involved. They also operate under financial constraints, technical limitations, and human resource shortages.
- Central Government Ministries:
- Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD): Became the central authority for Solid Waste Management (SWM) in 2023, responsible for constructing landfill sites and infrastructure.
- Department of Environment: Emphasizes monitoring plastic production and disposal and controlling microplastics pollution.
- National Planning Commission: Apex planning body, responsible for national periodic plans and policies related to SWM.
- Other ministries like Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Population, and Ministry of Industry and Commerce also play roles.
Private Sector Actors:
- Private Waste Management Companies: A large share of municipal SWM in Kathmandu is handled by around seventy private companies. They primarily focus on waste collection from households and businesses and direct disposal to landfills. Most operate without formal legal contracts from KMC but are registered under the Companies Act and pay taxes. Examples include NEPCEMAC, Next Era Energy, Green Nepal City, and Kirtipur Fohor Byawasthapan Sewa.
- Social Enterprises: Organizations like Doko Recycler, Blue Waste to Value, Biocomp Nepal, and Khalisisi are involved in waste collection, recycling, and empowering waste pickers. They often use online platforms for pick-up services.
- Recycling and Manufacturing Industries: These industries in Nepal and India are the ultimate recipients of recovered recyclables, transforming them into new products.
Informal Sector Actors:
- Waste Pickers / Scavengers: Individuals who directly collect, sort, and recover valuable recyclable materials from streets, bins, transfer stations, and landfill sites. They form the base of the informal recycling hierarchy.
- Itinerant Waste Buyers (IWBs): Also known as "Feriya" or "Kabadiwala," they purchase dry recyclables door-to-door from households and institutions.
- Scrap Dealers ("Kabaad"): A multi-tiered network (small, medium, large scale) that buys from pickers and IWBs, further segregates, processes, and sells to recycling industries.
- Middlemen: Facilitate the transport of recyclables, often illegally, to industries in India.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society:
- NGOs and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs): They run public awareness campaigns, provide training, support health benefits for waste pickers, promote segregation and composting, and work towards integrating the informal sector. Examples include Volunteers Initiative Nepal (ViN), Clean-up Nepal, Environment Conservation and Development Forum (ECDF), Medecins Du Monde-France (MdM-F), Green Path Nepal, Samyukta Safai Jagaran (SASAJA), Women Environment Preservation Committee (WEPCO), and Balmiki Samaj Nepal.
- Associations and Unions: Organizations like Solid Waste Management Association of Nepal (SWMAN) represent private companies. Nepal Recollectors and Recyclers Association and others advocate for waste workers.
International Organizations and Development Partners:
- The World Bank, UNOPS, SACEP: Support regional initiatives like the PLEASE Project focusing on plastic waste management.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB): Has conducted studies and provided policy recommendations and support for SWM in Nepal.
- JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency): Supported landfill development.
- European Union (EU): Supported projects like a biomethanation plant.
- UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, WWF, IUCN Nepal: Also involved as development partners.
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