Issues (Nepal) : Is solid waste really a waste?

Tuesday, 27 January 2004
We generally find people talking about solid waste problem in Kathmandu.Yes, it is definitely a problem, if it is not properly dealt with and scientifically managed. Solid waste can never be a problem by itself but it becomes a problem only when it is not managed properly. However, is solid waste really a waste? If properly recognized, it is a resource, rather than a waste. Waste by definition is something, which does not have any use and should be abandoned. But if we carefully look at the objects that we throw considering them as waste, we will find that the objects have many other uses and need not be thrown away just like that. It is just due to our ignorance that we do not recognize their value and, thus, throw them away. I, therefore, feel afraid to call it as solid waste, rather I would call it as solid material having a specific economic value.In the early days, our ancestors hardly threw away their wastes. Rather, they collected and transformed them into compost and used them in their agricultural fields. One can well argue that there is a big difference between then and now, as most of the things they used were of organic nature and, thus, could be converted into compost but now we use many synthetic objects, which cannot be decomposed.This is a valid argument, but to what extent? To exactly answer this question, one should know the composition of material that we throw everyday. Considering the composition of materials that are abandoned in the city, almost 70 percent is of organic nature, which can very well be decomposed as our ancestors did. This is a significant percentage and, unlike in the early days, there are technologies available now to transform them into usable products such as compost (either through aerobic composting or vermi-composting) or generation of biogas through digestion. Similarly, almost 9 percent of such materials consist of paper, mainly newspapers, which we should not throw away. Rather, we should collect them separately and sell them to the scrap dealers for recycling.Another most commonly used item is plastic, which constitutes almost 10 percent of the total materials. Plastics can also be collected separately and sold to scrap dealers for recycling as we do to paper. Likewise, glass constitutes almost 3 percent of the total material, including the bottles of beer, liquor, medicines etc. Of these, the bottles of beer and liquor are generally segregated and sold to scrap dealers for reuse. The remaining fraction of materials constitutes metal, rubber, wood, leather etc. Some of them could still be reused if segregated. This shows that only a small fraction of the waste needs to be disposed off, if properly managed. And we can make money out of them, as whatever we throw has an economic value attached to it. This can be accomplished even at the level of an individual household. There are examples already available in Kathmandu as to how we can produce rich organic manure at our own homes through vermi-composting. The manure can be used to grow vegetables in our kitchen garden or to grow flowers. But in reality, we throw away such valuable resources as waste. On top of that we want to invest a huge amount of money to dispose it off. In that sense, we want to invest money to throw our money. It is definitely not a sustainable way of managing solid waste. If the waste has an economic value, then why are we throwing it? It is mainly due to the lack of awareness. Most of us do not understand it’s value and those who know about it seldom try to tell others. We, as an individual or as an institution, hardly consider them as resources and focus only on how to get it rid.For recovery of resources from wastes, they should be segregated at source and mixing should be avoided. But in reality, the general principles of waste management are not practiced. As a result, waste is never separated at source; whatever comes in is mixed together and is finally thrown away. The scavengers do whatever segregation is possible during the collection of wastes, before they are brought to the dump-yard along the Bagmati river, near Sundarighat.Proper awareness campaign, formal/informal education and training on waste reduction, segregation and resource recovery are necessary. What would be more effective is demonstration of some of the existing systems such as vermi-composting, aerobic composting, plastic separation, etc. Some organizations and individuals have definitely made some efforts in this area, but they are far from adequate. The problem of solid waste management lies primarily with our perception. Nepal, being a poor country, should pay more attention on maximum utilization of the resources available in the form of waste, rather than on investing a huge amount of money to get rid of such wastes. Our objective should be to generate money from wastes rather than investing money to dispose the valuable resources.Deepak Raj AdhikariThe Kathmandu Post, January 27, 2004