BEST PRACTICES ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF NEPALESE CITIES
Solid Waste ManagementURBAN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
in Bhaktapur
Introduction
Bhaktapur municipality – a historical town – spreads
over an area of nearly 7 km2. It is a popular tourist
destination, located only 30 minutes’ drive from the capital
Kathmandu. It is divided into 17 administrative wards9
and 75 per cent of the area is used for agriculture. The
projected population of this Municipality for the year 2008
is 85,000, the urban population growth rate being 1.7 per
cent and the population density 11,058.38 per km2. (CBS,
2001). In 2007, the total number of tourists visiting this
municipality was 121,431, the peak season being from
September to October (Bhaktapur municipality, 2007).
Rationale for selection
This case is included in the review because it provides
information about effective waste collection by local
community group contractors from different wards.
Case description
Earlier, Bhaktapur municipality had received complaints
from local communities because of the ineffective
collection system and haphazard dumping of solid waste.
In order to address these complaints from the residents,
a facility for treating organic waste was implemented.
Bhaktapur composting facility was commissioned in
1984 with support from GTZ and it has been operating
for most months of the year for 20 years.
Now the Community Development Section is responsible
for waste management in the municipality. Most of the
municipalities in Nepal have community development
sections which are responsible for all aspects of waste
management. Local community groups provide waste
management services under an annual contract to the
municipality in 12 of the 17 wards. However, the
municipality still has overall responsibility for waste
management in the five remaining wards. The
community contractors range in size from three to seven
employees, and are allocated to the wards according to
population of each ward. Each group is responsible for
one ward in order to facilitate effective waste
management. The municipality also allocates one waste
inspector to each of the wards.
Group contractors in all 12 wards are responsible for
household waste collection, street sweeping and the
collection of municipal solid waste from various
unofficial collection points. The remuneration of each
member of the group is same as the salary of a
Name of the Programme: Solid Waste Management in Bhaktapur
Location: North-East of the capital Kathmandu
Duration of the Project: 2003 onwards
Beneficiaries: Residents of urban area
Donors and Partners: Government of Nepal, GTZ, NGOs, CBOs
Municipal Vision: A clean traditional city
9 Population range of 2000-10,000
4