Kathmandu's solid waste management (SWM) is a significant and often problematic issue. The Kathmandu Valley, a densely populated region with eighteen municipalities, produces approximately 1262 tons of waste daily, with the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) alone generating 450 metric tons. More than 700 metric tons of solid waste from the Kathmandu Valley end up at the Banchare Danda landfill site, with about 300 garbage trucks dumping waste there daily.
Here's a breakdown of how waste
is currently managed and the challenges faced:
- Waste Composition: Approximately 70% to
75% of the total waste generated in Kathmandu is organic. The rest
consists of plastics (around 10.8-13%), paper (around 9-10%), glass
(4-5.42%), metals, textiles, rubber, leather, construction, and demolition
waste. Historically, the waste composition shifted from mostly organic to
higher fractions of plastic, glass, and metal, making traditional
composting difficult.
- Collection System:
- The KMC is primarily responsible for SWM within
its jurisdiction, overseeing street sweeping, waste collection,
transportation, and final disposal.
- Waste collection methods include door-to-door
collection, vehicle collection, and road-based collection.
- The KMC directly collects waste from 12 out of
35 wards, while private sector organizations (PSOs) fully manage one
ward, and jointly collect waste with KMC in 22 wards. However,
many PSOs operate without obtaining the required licenses under the SWM
Act.
- Despite a schedule for daily collection, some
households report waste is collected only 2 or 3 times a week.
Overall collection efficiency was estimated at 86.90% in 2013,
meaning a notable amount of waste remains uncollected.
- Uncollected waste is often disposed of
environmentally unsafely, openly burned, or thrown into open spaces and
river banks.
- Segregation and Recycling:
- The Solid Waste Management Act, 2011, mandates
waste segregation at source into at least organic and inorganic waste.
- Households are asked to segregate their waste
into degradables and non-biodegradables.
- However, past initiatives for segregation failed
because city workers often mixed segregated waste in the same garbage
trucks, leading people to stop segregating. Waste arriving at
transfer stations like Teku is typically "horribly mixed and
contaminated," making recovery of recyclables "quite
impossible".
- Reduction, reuse, and recycling (3Rs) are
"almost lacking".
- About 18.5% of waste is recovered and sent to
scrap dealers for recycling, and an estimated 5% is recycled by the
private sector (scavengers and scrap dealers selling to factories in
Nepal and India).
- Transfer Stations and Landfills:
- Waste is typically brought to transfer stations,
such as Teku, before being transported to the landfill.
- The Teku transfer station was designed for
segregating and composting organic waste, but its infrastructure is
unused due to managerial problems. Observations at Teku revealed foul
odor, littering, and direct flow of leachate into the Bishnumati River.
- The primary landfill sites, Sisdole and Banchare
Danda, are intended for non-recyclable waste (around 30% of total waste)
but receive mixed waste, leading to environmental issues.
- Landfills face challenges such as poor leachate
management, unmanaged gas generation, and issues with scavengers and
animals. The access road to Sisdol landfill is long, narrow, and
prone to landslides, especially during the rainy season, leading to
frequent closures due to local protests or poor road conditions.
- Institutional Capacity and Challenges:
- Historically, SWM was an "overlooked aspect
of municipal operations" in Nepal.
- Municipalities face technical, financial, and
human resource constraints. They struggle with inadequate
infrastructure, operational inefficiencies, and insufficient resources to
collect, treat, and dispose of waste.
- There is a shortage of trained personnel and
limited technical expertise.
- Weak coordination among different government
levels (local, provincial, central) and between formal and informal waste
sectors creates ambiguity and inefficiency.
- The enforcement of the Solid Waste Management
Act, 2011, is inconsistent, with more emphasis on public awareness
than punitive measures.
- Citizens often view SWM as solely the
municipality's responsibility, leading to low community ownership. An
ingrained "use-and-throw" culture and the perception that
segregation is a "hassle" also contribute to the problem.
- Current Plans and Initiatives:
- The KMC plans to achieve "zero waste"
and utilize every waste material.
- There are plans to convert organic waste into
manure and biogas, and sell dry waste to recyclers. A plant to
convert organic waste into fertilizers and biogas is planned for the Teku
garbage collection center.
- Some dry waste might also be converted into coal
for brick and cement factories.
- Awareness campaigns and training are being
conducted in wards to promote segregation and collection.
- Decentralized hubs, also known as mini material
recovery facilities, are being established, such as the Dallu Hub, in
partnership with informal waste worker organizations, to separate waste
into recyclable and non-recyclable categories.
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