A formal municipal waste collection and management programme is highly required. Inconsistent waste picking is evident here, which requires proper management with the local government's involvement and interference. In the case of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, representatives of each ward should be seriously involved in waste management, giving it high priority

As per various published sources, the Kathmandu Valley produces 1,200 metric tons of solid waste daily, out of which only 50 percent is disposed of by Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). The actual data could be even more as the city gets more polluted and unmanaged with each passing year. With growing urbanisation, improved living standards and changing consumption patterns, the city has had to deal with more and more piles of waste every day only to see its living standard and quality of life deteriorate.

The Solid Waste Management Act, 2068 has made the local governments responsible for the operation and management of infrastructure for the collection, treatment and final disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). But, the local government of Kathmandu has failed to manage the huge amounts of solid waste lying across the KMC, and though efforts are being made, it is yet to reach a definitive state.

Currently, there are no formal municipal waste recovery and recycling programmes in many municipalities of Nepal, including the KMC. Most of the waste is being collected by the local communities and the private sector that are responsible for the collection and dumping of solid waste. The private sector collects 79 per cent of the total solid waste of the Kathmandu Valley, which used to be dumped at the Sisdol landfill site until recently.

But just collection and dumping of solid waste at a landfill site cannot be considered proper waste management.

Additionally, there are not many initiatives that are worthy of note with regards to the segregation of solid waste at least into organic and inorganic. There is also that necessity to establish upcycling, recycling, resource recovery and treatment facilities beyond just segregation.

The concept of waste as a potential income source has been introduced and practised these days by private organisations that rely on collected plastics, glass, metals and paper. These establishments could be a motivation for waste upcycling, recycling and recovery in a proper way.

There is an effective way to minimise waste. It's through behavioural changes through the practice of reducing, reusing and recycling, which must be initiated from each household. Every piece of waste that is produced can somewhat be reduced, reused or recycled. But this is not being done. It is not known how much waste from each household is being produced every day or by what route it is being transferred. This data would play a critical role in the real management of waste which includes management at the source and at the landfill site.

Likewise, there is a mindset that waste is a non-usable, unnecessary and deteriorating commodity hampering both people's health and the environment. If waste management infrastructure/facility is put in place, people will be more aware of the waste they produce, and will be managed at their doorstep.

A formal municipal waste collection and management programme is also highly required. Inconsistent waste picking is evident here, which requires proper management with the local government's involvement and interference. In the case of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, representatives of each ward should be seriously involved in waste management, giving it high priority.

It is understood that the collected solid waste from all over the Kathmandu Valley is supposed to be taken to the government-run Teku Transfer Station first, but segregation of the waste is not done there. Only some private organizations are involved in segregating their waste, that too haphazardly near river banks or under bridges. This is of utmost concern, and an option must be found.

After the work at the transfer station is nonchalantly completed, the waste is directly dumped at Sisdol and now at Bancharedanda. Sisdol, which is overworked, has a height of 100 metres and a width of 300 to 350 metres. The accumulated waste has been harmful to the general population and the environment around the site. Especially leachate, methane gas and other greenhouse gases keep oozing out of the dump, which should be taken into account to save the lives of the people living around the Sisdol site.

With the Bancharedanda site being brought into operation, the solution lies in preventing organic and recyclable waste from being dumped at the landfill sites, which will increase the life of the landfill site. The infrastructure for segregation along with training and technology at the source and at various dumping stations is required. Segregation at the source is more effective as it is more hygienic and economic than picking recyclable materials at the landfill/dumping sites.

Wards of the city should monitor the waste training programme, and once the infrastructure is built, regulations to control violations should be established. Organic waste can be composted at the household level if a small land/yard is available, or else each ward can collect organic waste and use it as a co-substrate with sewage, sludge, cattle manure, poultry litter for biogas generation, while inorganic waste such as plastic, paper, metal, textile pieces can be recycled. The need for fertiliser can also be met by the use of composted organic solid waste.

Lastly, treating waste as an income-generating commodity can be well advertised to make people realise waste is not a source of contamination but rather a raw material for a wellversed entrepreneurial venture. The products developed from the recycling of waste require use to overturn the preconceived notion that it is not reliable. And the raw materials generated from waste can be a source of national income and must be given a chance by the manufacturers and distributors.

Lohani and Nepal are with the Renewable and Sustainable Laboratory (RSEL) at Kathmandu University

A version of this article appears in the print on July 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.