Kathmandu's waste management is managed by a blend of formal government entities, private companies, and a significant informal sector, often operating in parallel rather than in a fully integrated system.
- Formal Government Bodies: The primary responsibility for solid waste management (SWM) in Kathmandu lies with local governments, particularly the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). The Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD) is now the central authority for SWM, having taken over jurisdiction from the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration in 2023. The MOUD is responsible for constructing landfill sites and necessary infrastructure for SWM, while the KMC manages collection, final disposal, and processing, and coordinates with the private sector. The government operates under the Solid Waste Management Act of 2011 and the Solid Waste Management National Policy of 2022, which guide waste management, clarify roles of federal units, and promote public-private partnerships (PPP).
- Private Waste Management Companies: A large share of municipal solid waste management in Kathmandu is carried out by private waste management companies, which have proliferated due to the municipality's limited capacity. There are approximately seventy such companies, most of which are registered under the Companies Act of Nepal and pay taxes. However, they often operate without formal legal contracts from KMC, creating an ambiguous "informal-formal" status. They primarily focus on waste collection from households and businesses and direct disposal to landfills. Some private companies do engage informally with informal waste workers for segregation at transfer stations.
- Informal Waste Management Sector: This sector is an indispensable part of waste management in Kathmandu, filling critical gaps left by formal municipal services. It comprises:
- Waste pickers (scavengers): Individuals who directly collect, sort, and recover valuable recyclable materials from streets, bins, transfer stations, and landfill sites.
- Itinerant Waste Buyers (IWBs) / "Kawadiwala" or "Feriya": They purchase dry recyclables door-to-door from households and institutions.
- Scrap Dealers ("Kabaad"): These form a multi-tiered network (small, medium, large scale) that buys from pickers and IWBs, further segregates, processes, and then sells to recycling industries in Nepal or often illegally to India.
- Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Social Enterprises: These organizations play a supportive role, often partnering with local communities and sometimes the informal sector. They run public awareness campaigns, provide training, support health benefits for waste pickers, and promote sustainable practices like waste segregation and composting. Some focus on establishing material recovery facilities and strengthening recycling infrastructure.
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