Garbage management problem likely to recur after 3 months

KATHMANDU: The problem of managing Kathmandu valley's waste is likely to recur in the next three months if an alternative to the existing disposal site is not sought for immediately.

Only few days ago, trash that had been piled on the roads for around a month was managed. The problem of garbage management is increasing by the day in the capital city with increase in population.

Garbage management would turn into a serious issue for the valley denizens if authorities concerned did not find a long term solution for it.

Kathmandu valley generates 1,000 metric tons of garbage on a daily basis while Kathmandu Metropolis alone produces 500 metric tons of garbage. Some 75 per cent of waste materials collected from Kathmandu are managed in Sisdole landfill site.

According to Waste Management Technical Assistance Centre's Executive Director, Bishwamani Gyawali, it will take at least three years to prepare Bancharedanda, the proposed new landfill site for waste disposal that lies some two kilometres away from the existing landfill site in Nuwakot.

Temporary landfill site is required until Bancharedanda is prepared as a permanent site for waste disposal. The Sisdole site has been so packed that it is likely to overflow. The site was constructed in 2062 BS with the capacity to deposit garbage only for a period of two years post its construction. The site, however, has been expanded four times so far in a bid to increase its capacity.

Four months have passed since the preliminary agreement with a private developer to implement integrated garbage management in Kathmandu valley. However, final agreement has not taken shape yet.

It is up to Kathmandu Metropolitan City to manage the garbage, said Gyawali. "KMC should initiate ways to construct a new dumping ground. Otherwise big problems will surface," he warned.

However, KMC is trying to shy away from the responsibility to manage the valley's waste by saying that federal government is responsible to build a garbage dumping site at Bancharedanda as a permanent solution. KMC's Joint Spokesperson Nawaraj Dhakal said, construction of a landfill site would start soon in coordination with the central government.