• Waste-to-energy plant is expected to make garbage management easier

Kathmandu, July 30

Kathmandu Metropolitan City is facing difficulties segregating garbage to generate electricity from waste. It started generating electricity from waste from its Teku-based plant in October last year.

Rabindra Man Shrestha, chief of Environment Management Division, KMC, said they were facing garbage segregation problem since the very beginning. “KMC has hired five staffers for waste segregation,” he told The Himalayan Times, adding, “We are facing the problem as waste is not segregated at source.”

According to Shrestha, students from different universities are conducting study on the plant after it started generating electricity. The 14 kilowatts of electricity generated by the plant is currently being used by the Environment Management Division of KMC. The plant consumes three metric tonnes garbage per day.

Shrestha said this was part of the KMC’s attempt to produce electricity in a sustainable manner. “Other

municipalities have also expressed their interest in the project, so the KMC is thinking of replicating the project in other municipalities,” said KMC Spokesperson Gyanendra Karki.

KMC hopes the waste-to- energy project will make waste management in Kathmandu Valley easier. Besides generating power, KMC plans to produce 96 kg gas, 300 kg bio-organic fertiliser, and 13,500 litres of purified water daily from the garbage collected at the Teku transfer station.

A total of 450 tonnes of garbage is produced in Kathmandu Valley every day. Nearly 63 per cent of garbage is organic waste.

A study by Alternative Energy Promotion Centre said Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Bhaktapur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Kirtipur Municipality and Kalimati fruit and vegetable market alone produce 331 tonnes urban waste daily.

KMC had been facing a tough time managing household waste due to lack of resources and technology. The project is expected to assist the KMC in tackling problems created by household waste.