Dhankuta earns Rs 3 million a year from garbage

Dhankuta, August 22

Dhankuta Municipality has been earning Rs 3 million per annum after a garden, made at a garbage collection centre to dispel foul smell turned into a tourist destination.

The municipality said the garden made by burying waste with soil at Salleri forest area in Dhankuta Municipality had become a tourist destination. The garbage collected from the municipality area is piled up at Salleri forest area. Garbage Management Centre was set up at a cost of Rs 40 million rupees over 30 ropani land at Salleri for long-term waste management solution in collaboration with the municipality and Local Development Ministry five years ago.

Dhankuta Municipality Environment Section Chief Upendra Khanal said the municipality was earning Rs 3 million per year from the garden. “The municipality earns Rs 1.5 million from municipality residents as sanitation charge while the office earns Rs 1.6 million rupees from sale of the garbage to the landfill site (centre)”, he added.

Municipality Executive Officer Tirtha Prasad Dhital said long-term solution to garbage management had turned into a good source of income. According to Dhital, the degradable waste is used to make compost manure while non-degradable items such as iron, wires, tin, and glass are sold to waste pickers.

The Municipality produces ten tonnes of waste a day. As many as 15 staffers are deployed daily to collect waste with two vehicles in the municipality.

A source at the municipality said that inflow of high-level government officials, leaders and domestic and foreign tourists visiting the model garbage collection centre had increased. The municipality’s technician Mingma Sherpa said the centre would not have a problem managing waste for the next 50 years.

According to Dhital, a residential house, physical structure suitable for making compost, a garden over garbage dumping site and paved road around the centre had been constructed. Locals say other municipalities can learn from Dhankuta how to manage waste.