NATIONAL11 [ (Spotlight Weelky)]

Down In The Dumps

With the monsoon just around the corner, expert worry about the added hazards of garbage mismanagement

By AKSHAY SHARMA

As the monsoon approaches, experts are bracing for the added scale Kathmandu’s endemic garbage disposal problem is certain to take. "Solving the garbage problem will be a hard task indeed," says Ashok Shah of the Local Development Ministry’s Department of Solid Waste Management.

Rapid population growth and changing consumption habits have made the officials’ task more difficult. Kathmandu’s population is estimated to be growing by about 5.9 percent a year. Lalitpur’s population growth rate is about 3.8 percent. Those are troubling figures, especially in view of the fact that the entire Kathmandu Valley — which includes the cities of Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Thimi, Kirtipur and surrounding villages — is already believed to be over 1.2 million.

"It is common to see pedestrians covering their noses they pass the rotting mounds of garbage that are on almost every street corner in Kathmandu," says Jawalakhel resident Bimal Khatri. Bonfires of garbage smolder in many parts of Kathmandu and most people find it convenient to haul garbage in the capital’s rivers and ponds.

A heap of garbage : Stinking sight

Characteristics of Kathmandu’s solid waste Components Percentage by weight in years1996 ‘81 ‘85 ‘88 ‘95

Organic Material Paper and Plastic Textile Metal

67.66.56.54.9 58.29.35.38.4 67.66.02.72.2 57.8
52.2 6.2 6.02.0 8.10.4 4.8

Rubber/leather Wood BonesBatteries Insert materials

0.02.70.20.0 0.01.61.80.0 0.00.00.00.0 0.4 2.34.4

4.40.1 2.50.1 3.6

10.0

3.4 15.0 28.9 13.2

Glass 1.3 3.4 4.0 1.6 3.6

Plastic 0.3 3.6 2.6 2.0 5.4

(Source: Department of Solid Waste Management)

The average annual waste generation of in Kathmandu is around 278 tons, and experts predict that figure to go up to 350 tons by next year. Lalitpur generates 68 tons of waste. These numbers make clear the dire need for a central waste processing facility in the valley.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has a plan for recycling waste with technical support from Bombay-based Excel Industries. The facility is expected to recycle a minimum of 300 tons of solid waste each day and a total of 22,000 tons a year.

Few studies have been done on proper solid waste management. The few findings that have come out become irrelevant because the nature and scale of waste generations changes quickly. This makes it all the more difficult for municipal officials to analyze the garbage situation and to take remedial action.

The nature of waste varies according to the living standards of the community. The waste in Kathmandu can be characterized as being highly organic, of high density and high in moisture content. Past studies indicate that 60 percent of the waste is organic. In 1978, experts estimated the density of Kathmandu’s waste to be 600 kg/m 3.

Another survey conducted by the Solid waste Management and Resource Mobilization Center (SWMRMC) in May 1988 found that the density varied from 300 and 430 kg/m 3. The average density taken from samples from six locations were found to be 390 kg/ms.

The SWMRMC’s survey also measured the moisture content of the waste from six locations, which varied from 38 to 58.7 percent. The average moisture content was 45.8 percent. This may be because the samples were taken in May during which precipitation probably did not have an effect on the measurements, according to experts.

Kathmandu also generates large amounts of non-municipal waste, such as agricultural water, commercial waste, hospital waste, industrial waste and dead animals. Non-municipal waste is recycled by the private sector. The waste is generated in huge quantities and sometimes contains contaminants, according to experts. The municipalities manage part of it because it is either placed in containers or dumped in public places, Babu Kaji Shrestha, who collects garbage for Kathmandu municipality says, "We collect garbage from public dumps 2 or 3 times a week."

An efficient system of solid waste management is vital, especially because farmland around the city is decreasing, experts say. Agricultural waste is recycled by the farmers themselves and poses a less serious threat.

The main sources of commercial waste, experts say, are restaurants, vegetable and fruit markets, slaughterhouses, carpet factories and garment industries. Restaurant waste is usually fed to pigs. Bones from slaughterhouses usually end up in containers or are dumped on riverbanks.

"Waste from fruit and vegetable markets is usually dumped into containers. Waste from the Kuleshwor fruit and vegetable market is composted," says Ashok Shah. Some of the waste from garment and carpet factories is recycled, while others are dumped into rivers or containers.

Medical waste from hospitals is a major source of concern because of its hazardous nature. Experts say about 700 kg of hospital waste is generated in Kathmandu and Lalitpur each day. Teaching Hospital, Norvic Hospital and Patan Hospital have incineration plants. Few nursing homes burn their waste in crude incinerators and most of the other hospitals and nursing homes dump their waste in municipal containers or on riverbanks.

Prabin Shrestha, a student of microbiology, says: "The monsoon is around the corner and the risk of disease is growing because different harmful micro-organisms grow in these site. We have already heard of instances of cholera and dysentery."

Residents’ normally deposit waste at designated areas along the roadside or in public containers. Workers from the municipalities pick the garbage from these containers. Some people just throw away garbage at vacant plots and public areas, leaving the municipality to manage it. With the scale of the problem growing by the day, officials will have to devise a more safe and efficient system of waste disposal.