BEST PRACTICES ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF NEPALESE CITIES
3.0 CONCLUSIONS AND
LESSONS LEARNT
The aim of this report is to share the findings from
several cases of best practice and to help readers to
understand the roles of various organisations. This
mapping is necessary in the context of integrated and
sustainable waste systems, for which an understanding
of people, systems and technologies is fundamental.
Considerable effort has been invested by municipalities
and NGOs to improve solid waste management in Nepal.
Various organisations from the private sector and NGOs
are involved. The main areas of focus for these
organisations have been primary collection, composting
and recycling. The municipalities have become interested
to make improvements in final disposal, which is often
a neglected aspect of waste management. Much still
needs to be done to upgrade many aspects of solid waste
management systems. Lessons learnt and tentative
conclusions drawn from this report are as presented
below.
Minimising solid waste at source: Minimisation is
one of the important aspects of solid waste systems
and it can be effective in urban centres in Nepal. In
order to reduce the amount of solid waste sent for
final disposal, at-source minimisation and effective
waste collection systems play a major role.
Municipalities and NGOs can work together to
improve current practices and policies in this area.
Immediate need of landfill sites: In order to dispose
non-recyclable waste, landfill sites are necessary for
safe disposal of solid waste. Most municipalities in
Nepal do not have a permanent landfill site and so
are dumping their solid wastes either on river banks
or on open land. This dumping process, especially if
done close to rivers, may be creating long-lasting
environmental and health risks. For long-term
environmental protection and to avoid public health
hazards, safe disposal of waste is essential. Therefore,
all municipalities of Nepal should learn a lesson from
Tribhuvannagar municipality on the subject of
sanitary disposal.
Waste management as part of the initial
infrastructure: For any type of construction, either
residential or commercial, a municipality should
enforce basic requirements in order to reduce or
segregate waste at source. For example,
municipalities should consider making provision for
measures such as HH composting and separate
containers for recyclables before approving a
construction proposal. This provision should be
monitored and penalties enforced if necessary, in
order to enforce such requirements. Municipal
boards should make this provision a high priority.
Greater participation of local communities:
Lessons from the cases presented in this report
have demonstrated how community awareness of
waste management issues can play a major role in
upgrading management practice. Measures such
as at-source segregation, recycling and reusing of
waste require major efforts to raise the awareness
of the community and develop participation. Local
government could effectively co-ordinate
community participation and awareness-raising
programmes as well as developing new policy
measures.
Support for private sector partnership: It is noted
that, due to limitations of local government finances
and resources, engaging private sector waste
management service providers is an option that merits
consideration. However, private sector operators may
not be attracted without the necessary policy measures
and investment environment. Municipalities should
take the necessary measures to monitor the
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