+

54% of municipal waste is biodegradable, yet 49% lands in landfills

File: Heaps of waste on a street of Kathmandu
File: Heaps of waste on a street of Kathmandu

Kathmandu, June 14

A government survey has found that Nepal’s local governments are not sensible about municipal waste management.

According to the results of the 2020 baseline survey conducted in 271 municipalities across Nepal, 54 per cent of the municipal waste is covered by biodegradable elements. Yet, 48.6 per cent of the total waste arrives in landfills.

For environmentalists, this is quite strange as they believe biodegradable waste should be turned into compost.

Meanwhile, the survey shows that 32.1 per cent of the waste is burned and 27.4 per cent is thrown in or by the rivers.

Based on the nature of the waste, after biodegradable comes the chemical waste (33.3 per cent) and others (12.7 per cent).

The study finds only 45 per cent of the municipalities have proper sewage systems.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration had carried out the survey via the Central Bureau of Statistics.

React to this post

Hot Topics

Conversation

New Old Popular