Kathmandu’s problematic solid waste (mis)management

Waste management in Kathmandu Valley is a big problem. It generates 1,200 metric tonnes of solid waste everyday, where only a few gets recycled. More than 700 metric tonnes of solid waste end up at Banchare Danda landfill site, with around 300 garbage trucks dumping waste there on a daily basis. 

The purpose of the landfill, initially, was for the disposal of solid waste that can neither be recycled. That amounts to around 30 percent of the total waste the valley generates. But sadly, that’s not the case. From degradable to non-degradable waste, everything is disposed of at Banchare Danda landfill site.

There are municipalities like Waling (Syangja) and Tilottama (Rupandehi) that have done a commendable job in managing their solid waste. Their waste management sites do not even emit foul smells. Dhundi Raj Pathak, solid waste management expert, says that the same kind of management can be replicated in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). “All we need to do is replicate the same mechanism on a larger scale, and the first place to start would be to ask every household to segregate their waste into degradables and non-biodegradables.” 

Around two years back, KMC had asked Kathmandu’s households to segregate their waste before dumping it in a garbage truck. A fine of Rs 500 was also imposed. Pathak says the initiation was good, but the problem was on how the city workers handled the segregated waste. Everything got dumped into the same garbage truck and ended up in landfills despite segregation. Eventually, people stopped segregating their household waste. 

What Kathmandu needs right now is a proper plan for the disposal of segregated waste, that can be brought into implementation as quickly as possible. For that, the city authority needs to convince every household to segregate their waste. 

KMC Spokesperson Nabin Manandhar says they are already on it. “We will be running awareness campaigns and training in every ward to segregate and collect waste.” 

This time, he adds, the city will not be imposing fines. 

“The plan is to achieve zero waste within Kathmandu,” says Manandhar. “We have completed a one year study on managing solid waste, and we are planning to create a model where every waste material is utilized.” 

There is a plan to convert organic waste into manure and biogas, and sell the dry waste to recyclers. Furthermore, the city is also planning to convert some of the dry waste into coal that can be used in brick and cement factories. To manage biodegradable waste, the city is planning to set up a plant at its garbage collection center in Teku. The facility will convert organic waste into fertilizers and biogas. 

“We can’t say when this plan will be operational, but we have taken the starting steps,” says Manandhar. 

Waste collected from Kathmandu Valley, Kakani, and Banepa end up at Banchare Danda landfill site. Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of KMC’s Environment Management Department, says if each municipality, including the ones in Kathmandu, takes responsibility for the waste they produce, it would be easier for the city to manage the waste. 

“It’s always the Kathmandu Metropolitan City that gets blamed for the situation at Sisdol and Banchare Danda, when there are other municipalities contributing to the problem,” he says. 

He claims 55 percent of the total waste generated in the city will be managed once the plan to convert organic wastes into fertilizer and biogas is realized.  

There are no plans to manage non-degradable waste though. In 2013, the KMC  had invited a tender for the management of non-degradable waste. No one applied. Over the years, the KMC officials have also taken several foreign cities to better understand how they are managing their solid waste. They gathered a lot of knowledge about waste management, but the city never took the step to implement that knowledge.  

“The plans are limited to the paper. For things to progress, the tender process that the city activated a decade ago must conclude,” says Pathak, the solid waste management expert. “Only then, the city could start by setting up a material recovery facility to segregate non-degradable waste before selling it to independent buyers or recyclers.” 

If the plans were to be put in action immediately, Pathak believes that the facilities needed for solid waste management can be up and running in approximately three years. 

“We don’t need any pilot programs to test, because we  have had multiple tests already,” he says.