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Every day, 1,200 tons of waste collected from Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kakani, and Banepa is dumped at the Sisdol landfill site in Kakani rural municipality, Nuwakot, according to the Solid Waste Management Association of Nepal (SWMAN). Sisdol landfill was supposed to be a temporary dumping site, meant to be used for three years. It’s been 13 years now.

In the past two years, the government has sped up landfill construction work at Banchare Danda, also in Nuwakot, and it’s expected to be complete by the (Nepali) year’s end. But without a scientific approach to waste management, experts say, Banchare Danda is fated to become the next Sisdol.

Dhurba Acharya, chairperson, SWMAN, says we need to learn from developed countries and their approaches to trash if we are to tackle our seemingly insurmountable waste management problem.

Currently, of the 1,200 tons of garbage collected daily, 65 percent is organic waste, and 15-20 percent is recyclable.

“This leaves you with very little that should actually be going to the landfill,” says Acharya. But without a proper system for waste segregation, much of the trash collected ends up in the landfill.

In recent times, a lot of emphasis has been given to recycling, upcycling, and reusing. Many people and corporate households seem to realize that the onus lies on each of us, and they are quite intent on doing their bit to reduce the amount of trash they generate. There are also many companies, organizations and social enterprises working to reduce the amount of trash that goes to the landfill.

For instance, there’s Doko Recyclers that helps you segregate your waste at its source. Khaalisisi is working towards building Nepal into one of the world’s Top 20 Recycling Nations by 2030. Upcycle Nepal Pvt. Ltd. tries to ensure all unused fabric are put to good use and don’t end up at Sisdol. Sukhawati Store Foundation promotes thrifting culture in Nepal, while Eco Saathi Nepal offers sustainable options for many daily use items that would otherwise ultimately end up in the landfill. Plus, there are many more such establishments doing similar work.

Sourced wrong

And yet, nothing has been enough to stop Sisdol from overflowing. Where are we going wrong? And what’s it going to take?

The only solution appears to lie in proper segregation of waste at its source: separating garbage into recyclable, non-recyclable, and organic bits, and disposing them off accordingly.

However, Kiran Shrestha at Action Waste Pvt. Ltd., a waste management company in Kathmandu, says segregation takes time and effort and thus most people don’t seem inclined to do it—much simpler to just dump everything in a single bin.

“In the areas we collect waste materials, less than two percent households segregate their trash,” he says.

An obvious but often-forgotten fact is that someone has to manually sort through our waste when we don’t: handling our waste are around 4,000 laborers from 75 private companies and municipalities. Waste-sorters often accidentally cut their hands with broken glass pieces we throw in our trash. After years in the job many of them go on to develop long-term health complications.

Laxmi Prasad Ghimire, spokesperson, Nepsemyak, a company working in the field of community-based solid waste management, believes all of us could help by composting organic waste at home. This, he says, will considerably reduce the amount of trash we collectively generate.

“I understand that a lot of people live in apartments and single rooms, but composting is possible in small spaces too. If you learn how to compost, there’s really nothing to it. Then the second step which is separating your waste into recyclable and non-recyclable bits becomes easier,” he says.

The problem, Shrestha adds, is not that people don’t know about composting and recycling but that without clear states policies and laws and their strict implementation, they simply don’t bother.

Aayushi KC, founder of Khaalisisi, says a single person or household or even a community segregating its waste isn’t enough. It can’t create the desired impact and reverse the environmental damage we are causing, bit by bit, day by day.

“I know it sounds cynical but this is perhaps the only area where a little bit won’t go a long way,” she says. What we need instead, KC adds, is a complete package with lifestyle change on the part of people and society, and policies and investment from the government’s side.  

KC says people need to be given incentives to segregate and recycle. This is one reason why at Khaalisisi they insist people take money for their recyclables and not just give them away for free. The fact that you can make an income, however meager, from things you are throwing away could act as a motivator of sorts.

Absent awareness

There is also a huge problem in the way collection is currently carried out, making segregation pretty pointless, say those working in the sector. Even if segregation happens at the source—meaning households, offices, and the like—waste materials are dumped together in the same vehicle when they are picked up.

“It can be extremely discouraging to those who take the trouble of separating their wastes,” says KC.  

Shrestha, of Action Waste Pvt. Ltd., cites lack of public awareness as the reason for all sorts of waste being collected together. He recalls a time when Action Waste collected dry waste and wet waste on different days. But people would invariably throw mixed waste on both days.

Ghimire agrees that this method, if strictly practiced by each and every household, could bring us a step closer to creating a proper waste management system. Unfortunately, the behavioral changes needed for that will take time. Meanwhile, a comprehensive awareness of proper waste management has become essential.

The situation isn’t all bleak though. Many startups and companies have taken it upon themselves to help people follow the three Rs—Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle—to cut down the amount of waste that reaches the landfill.

Rajan Chakradhar, cofounder of Upcycle Nepal Pvt. Ltd., mentions that on average they get 300 to 400 kilos of clothes and scrap fabric every month. They repurpose these to make bags, scrunchies, and other accessories besides donating clothes that are in wearable condition to those in need.

“If people have clothes they are about to toss out, they can give them to us and we’ll keep them from ending up at Sisdol,” says Chakradhar.

Mani Karki, founder and CEO of Eco Saathi Nepal, thinks it’s imperative to shift the focus on sustainable living as it’s possible to greatly reduce waste by replacing single-use items with greener alternatives.

From compostable bamboo toothbrushes, hairbrushes and cutleries to metal straws, reusable cotton makeup removal pads and menstrual cups, Eco Saathi Nepal offers many things one would need to make the switch to a sustainable lifestyle.

Similarly, by promoting thrifting or secondhand shopping, Sukhawati Store Foundation has, in four years, prevented 30,530.73 kilos of goods from being discarded.

“Thrifting is important in reducing waste and though it’s a relatively new concept in Nepal, people seem to be more aware about it these days,” says Samita Rana Magar, coordinator at Sukhawati Store Foundation.

The foundation has various drop points—in Nakhipot, Banasthali, Bhaisepati, and Durbar Marg—where you can leave clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, electronics, and other items you would like to give away. Alternatively, you can also request them for a pick-up service.

Collective effort

Experts’ undivided opinion was that, given the breakneck speed of urbanization and our inadequate waste management infrastructure, companies like these working to minimize waste can slow the pace of waste reaching the landfill. But their efforts will be futile without adequate public support.

Stuti Sharma, communications and advocacy coordinator at Doko Recyclers, says people aren’t very enthused about proper waste management. There’s hope though as the idea of recycling and reducing are slowly entering people’s minds because of all the conversation surrounding sustainability and environmental preservation, especially on social media.

“There are so many private industries and organizations working together to manage waste properly that it’s bound to bring about change sooner or later. But people also need to understand that not everything can be recycled and try to create less waste,” she says. And it’s not that hard, she adds, if you are a little conscious about what you are using on a daily basis.

Pancha Kumar DC, 27, holds his wife Rajanpura Rokaya’s hand as they queue at the Gauriphanta border point in Kailali district in far-western Nepal. The couple, who hail from Sani Triveni Rural Municipality-2 of Karnali province, is on its way to Bengaluru, India. They are in search of jobs.

“We are neighbors to our Province Chief Minister Mahendra Bahadur Shahi. But what difference does that make?” DC asks. “He seems to have forgotten all his electoral vows.”

DC had voted in the 2017 elections. “The leader I voted for won and his party is in the government,” he says. “But even the two-third majority federal government failed to meet our expectations. Now they have dissolved an elected House and are fighting among themselves. We are distraught.” The DC couple prefers living in their own village but with no jobs or stable income, they had no option but to leave to make their ends meet.

The brother duo of Padam Koli, 27, and Niraj Koli, 23, of Dasharathchanda Municipality-5, Baitadi, also voted in the last elections. “We had high hopes that this time the government would create local jobs and people would no longer have to go to India," Padam says. "But now, we are bitterly disappointed to see them fight among themselves.”

Federal elections have been announced for April-end after the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Niraj, who works as a security guard in India, says he has no intention of coming home to vote this time. “Our votes seemingly do no more than add to the prosperity of our leaders and their families.”

The Koli brothers live with their elderly parents back home. Padam is married. Both says they will earn enough money in India to finance the education of their little brother, the youngest of the three. “But we’re still not sure what he’ll here after his studies. As things stand, he too will ending up searching for a job in India,” Niraj says.

A faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party has hit the streets after the dissolution of the federal House of Representatives. Opposition parties are also on the streets. They need people to support their respective movements. Many local leaders are already knocking on the doors, asking people to join their agitation.

“Some leaders came to our house and told us to join their protests,” says Bam Bahadur Bam of Gauriganga-9, Kailali, who was previously employed as a security guard in Pune, Maharashtra. “We refused to go but they kept coming. One reason I am going to India now is to avoid them.”

“Nepalis headed for India seem disgusted with the political situation in the country,” says Prakash Madai, program manager at Nepal Institute of Development Studies Nepal, an NGO working in the field of immigration. “People had been hoping for the creation of new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities after the formation of a strong government. That hope now appears dead.”

According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, homelessness is the state of having no home. Unlike the common perception, it is also true that not all homeless people need help with food, clothes, and shelter. “We for our part help those struggling to meet their basic needs and who are living on streets and public places,” says Suman Bartaula, Secretary, Manab Sewa Ashram, the preeminent NGO working for the rehabilitation of the homeless in Nepal.

The ashram, established in 2012 in Hetauda, currently serves 15 districts across all seven provinces. Its Samakhusi branch in Kathmandu has, according to Bartaula, tried to rescue as many people living in streets and public places of the national capital as it can. Yet not all of them want to be ‘rescued’ or to lead a confined existence.

The people who actually need institutional help are those who have no homes, no ones to look after them, and those who suffer from various mental and physical ailments. “They are our primary concern. We rescue them as soon as we hear of them and find them,” adds Bartaula.

Another group is comprised of those who have been homeless for long and even enjoy their status. They are mostly men aged 16-40 and they mainly engage in begging or menial work picking plastic. Some are addicted to drugs and alcohol. “We try to rescue them too, but in most cases, they don’t want to be looked after. They often run away. That is why we are now focusing on the truly needy ones,” he informs.

Bartaula’s claim was verified by two people found in the Pashupatinath Temple area on a recent day. Rabindra Karki, 45, doesn’t know where he was born. He has been living in Pashupati area collecting garbage for 24 years. He sleeps anywhere he likes, mostly in the open with little to keep him warm. The ashram had tried to shelter him too. But Karki didn’t like it there. “That life was suffocating,” he says.

Similarly, sleeping under the open sky in the Pashupati area is Krishna Bahadur Karki, 36. Born in Kavre, he came to Pashupati after his father and siblings died and his mother abandoned him. He too had been taken in by an organization. “What I need is not rescue but a job. I don’t want to depend on anyone,” he says. Karki hopes to land a job when the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic die down.

Bartaula of the ashram says, eventually, everyone needs help. The people who are willingly homeless are not living healthy lives, and their physical and mental health deteriorate with time. They need help thereafter. “Of course, we are always there if they ever need our help,” Bartaula says.

Among those the Kathmandu branch of the ashram caters to are mostly women, the elderly, those with mental problems, orphans, and children abandoned by their parents.

“Homelessness is a vicious cycle,” argues Ishwor Man Dangol, Spokesperson, of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. “You rescue one person and another homeless person has already come to the street. So you can only manage homelessness, not do away with it entirely.”

Kathmandu Metropolitan City in 2017 came up with a plan to relocate the willing homeless of Kathmandu to the ashram and started a campaign to make Kathmandu “homeless-free”. “Of the 1,400 homeless people identified by the campaign in the previous fiscal year, we reunited 300 with their families,” informs Dangol.

The ashram currently shelters 1,068 people of the 4,907 it has rescued thus far. Out of those rescued, 1,513 were reunited with the families, 1,950 were re-established in their communities, while 376 died. Of those currently in its Kathmandu shelter, 357 are women (age 16-40), 352 are men, 271 are senior citizens, and 98 are children.

Bartaula claims that currently there must be only 1,000-1,500 homeless people in the entire country who need help but have not received it. And the ashram is making a renewed effort to reach even these few left behind.

“Presently our National Rescue Program team is on a Mechi-Mahakali tour and it has already rescued 350 people,” he informs.  

The ashram rents five houses in Kathmandu to look after the homeless and is planning to add more with government help. The KMC is helping the ashram on this.

Most Kathmanduites complained of having strange sensations on January 4, Monday. On the unusually dark and foggy day, social media was filled with people’s woes about a burning sensation in their eyes. Some also reported breathing difficulties and experienced symptoms typical of dust allergies even though they had never left their homes that day.

It was only 4:45 in the evening and this scribe had to drive home with his lights on. The visibility was abysmal.

That evening, Laxmi Maharjan, a septuagenarian, was sitting at his grocery store in Dhapasi with a concerned look on his face. The usually busy store was completely empty and under layers of clothing and sporting a big mask, its owner looked like he was prepared to climb a mountain. “I have seen many winters and experienced all kinds of fogs, mists and storms. But this is nothing like them. This is scary,” he says.

Like Maharjan, most people in the area had an agitated countenance as they looked around, trying to find the source of the thick smog that was creeping into their homes. The vegetable stands and street hawkers in inner roads had deserted their posts early, adding to the gloominess of the environment. The few people who remained on the street speculated that the smoke could be coming from a wildfire in the jungles on the valley’s outskirts while others complained of people burning garbage somewhere in the neighborhood.

Kathmandu saw a record level of air pollution on the day, with some places crossing the Air Quality Index (AQI) of 600 at one point. In the process, it became the most polluted city in the world, beating New Delhi and Dhaka for the top spot.

According to measurements at the US Embassy measuring station at Phohara Durbar, that day, the index was above 500 from 10pm to 5am; it had fallen to 480 at 7 am the next day. Internationally, an AQI between 101-150 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. AQI of 301 or higher is considered hazardous, which puts everyone at risk, and the state is generally held responsible of enforcing a public health emergency. (Reference: The US Environmental Protection Agency.)

A provision in Kathmandu Valley’s Air Pollution Management Action Plan allows the authorities to declare a public health emergency when AQI readings exceed 300. But, in this case, the government decided to do sit idle, even as the health and wellbeing of millions were on the line. The city’s air quality got better in the following days, yet environmentalists and health professionals continued to warn of severe consequences.

Health hazards

Dr. Anup Bastola, chief consultant for tropical medicine at the Ministry of Health and Population, is concerned about the adverse impact of low-quality air on general population. “The chemicals in the polluted air could harm everyone, especially children, elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions,” Bastola says. “This can induce allergies and asthma in children and will badly affect those recovering from pneumonia or similar respiratory diseases.”

As for Covid-19 patients, Bastola says that although vigilance is required, the polluted air is unlikely to have a major effect on those with the coronavirus but without respiratory problems. Things could be more complicated for patients suffering from Covid-induced pneumonia.

ENT surgeon Dr Samyam Parajuli has similar fears. The polluted air is causing various kinds of allergy-induced pharyngitis and sinusitis. In the long run, this could result in asthma, tuberculosis and even lung cancer. “Polluted air also creates occupational hazards for certain professions,” Parajuli adds. “In these situations, to mitigate the dangers, we have to avoid outdoor activities as much as possible, use masks, take steam, and do warm-water gargles.”

Bad evenings, worse mornings

Environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar lays out possible reasons behind record-breaking air pollution in Kathmandu. “Kathmandu’s bowl-shaped geography when capped by dense clouds makes for a noxious atmosphere,” Tuladhar says. Normally, either the polluted air rises high in atmosphere and gets replaced by fresher air. Or the air’s west-to-east movement cleans Kathmandu’s air. “But as dense clouds covered Kathmandu on January 4, the polluted air could not be replaced, resulting in record levels of pollution.”

What concerns Tuladhar more is that the pollutants floating in the air that day were from Kathmandu itself. The air in the densely-populated city was already polluted, and was made truly unbreathable on the day by a few other factors. “As its peak winter, people are lighting up fires to stay warm. There is also a lot of garbage-burning happening in Kathmandu. These are new sources of air pollution,” Tuladhar says. “Along with that, I think we were also affected by wildfires in Kaski, Dhading and Langtang regions.”

The weather appears clearer at present and the AQI has been reduced to 185 (10:45, Jan 7, IQAir), yet the problem of air pollution in Kathmandu persists. A reading of 185 is still unhealthy and if the government does not intervene, the problem will get worse. Even now, the mornings are marked by heavy mist and fog, as the air thickens with pollutants. “The air is cleaner around 12- or 1 pm in the afternoon. But when the temperature drops in the evening, the unhealthy smog is back,” Tuladhar says. He also attributes this winter’s high air pollution to lack of rain.

“There are certain short term measures the government can take,” Tuladhar says. “If the government wants, it can start with a crack-down on garbage-burning. Every ward has a mechanism to do so.” Also, he adds, the vehicles that emit large amounts of toxic gases can be identified and removed from the roads immediately.

For the long run, the government has plans awaiting implementation, Tuladhar informs. “Only a month ago, the cabinet passed a work-plan on cleaning Kathmandu’s air. That plan incorporates everything from transport-related air pollution to waste management,” he says. “If it’s implemented well, Kathmandu’s air will definitely be cleaner.”

Flight risk

A pilot with a local airline, who refused to reveal his identity for professional reasons, says flying in this weather is a big risk. “Kathmandu’s airport does not have a proper device to measure visibility,” he says. “The required visibility is 1,600 meters. The control tower uses a building as a landmark to measure this. When they see the building clearly, the visibility is considered high. When they don’t it, visibility is considered low. That’s how it is being done here and that’s risky.”

Recalling a January 4 flight, the pilot narrates how his flight had to face a dense layer of smog as he tried to enter Kathmandu from above. Visibility was almost zero, he says. In these weather conditions, flying in Nepal is a big risk. But the pilots and air traffic controllers are under pressure from airline companies to keep working even in the most trying circumstances.