KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 26
Kathmandu Metropolitan City's plan to classify waste at the source has stalled. KMC had announced that it would only collect waste that was segregated at the source from July 17.
However, it is now sitting with its hands tied.
Initially, the metropolis argued that the plan was affected due to obstruction caused by the locals in Bancharedanda. Now that the situation has become normal, the metropolis has not shown any interest in sorting, segregating, or collecting the waste at the source.
A fine of Rs 500 was issued for those who did not segregate municipal waste.
The notice issued by the KMC on June 23 stated, "A fine will be imposed every time if it is found that the garbage is not segregated during collection. This decision was taken as the responsibility of separating waste lies with the producer.'' The metropolis had made a schedule for collect non-perishable waste on Sunday and Wednesday. A schedule was given for collection of perishable waste on Monday and Friday.
According to the notice, many residents of the city had already started separating garbage.
However, since the metropolis did not pick up the waste according to schedule, those who had started separating the waste have now started collecting mixed waste.
Mayor Balendra Sah himself had appeared in public rallies and programmes asking for garbage classification. A team of ward presidents, including Mayor Shah, had requested the metropolis to visit each ward, and make compost from bio-degradable waste and use it in vegetable garden or gardens.
However, after collecting garbage on a regular basis, the metropolis has not shown interest in the campaign to classify waste at the source. Despite the fact that the metropolis has given priority to waste disposal, no initiative to segregate has been seen in the field.
Although garbage is collected on a regular basis, there is no classification at the source, so mixed garbage has reached Bancharedanda. The Department of Environment of Kathmandu Metropolitan City claims that segregated waste is collected only in some places.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 27, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
