Kathmandu, September 27
Earlier this year, the Kathmandu metropolitan city launched an ambitious plan to force its citizens to adopt waste segregation at the source from mid-July. But, two and a half months down the line, the city government concedes the plan failed.
After the city government failed to collect biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste separately and impose penalties on households failing to keep the waste separately, the rule has turned defunct.
The city government’s spokesperson Nabin Manandhar says the waste segregation plan could not prove as easy as it was thought earlier. “It doesn’t mean anything if we segregate waste but other adjacent local governments didn’t.”
Likewise, the municipal government’s Environment and Agriculture Department head Sarita Rai says the plan could not materialise as the waste collection and disposal procedures got halted for a long time due to obstruction at the Bancharedanda landfill site.
“But, we have not ditched the idea of waste segregation at the source. Some wards are still segregating the waste,” Rai says, “Now, we will also promote composting.”
