BEST PRACTICES ON SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT OF NEPALESE CITIES
Suiro programme at BharatpurURBAN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The Suiro programme claims to be a movement for
reducing the generation of plastic waste at HH level. It
has become an exemplary practice in which local
women’s groups encourage HHs to segregate plastic bags
from other waste and push them onto a Suiro so that
they are not scattered by the wind. A Suiro is a metal
hook with a long stem that can hold large numbers of
plastic bags. This programme is the combined effort of
five different organisations actively working for social
welfare in Bharatpur municipality. These organisations
are - the Rhino Club of Narayangadh28, the Rotary Club
of Narayangadh, the Rotract Club of Narayangadh, the
Plastic Entrepreneurs’ Committee and the Narayani
Abudaiya Centre (Suiro programme, Bharatpur, 2008
data). The networking and education is mainly done by
volunteers.
Rationale for selection
This programme is included in this study because it
provides information about simple techniques for at-
source segregation of plastic waste.
Case description
Before 2003 it was common to see garbage in the open
in all public areas of the municipality. Local residents
were careless about the problems associated with the
excessive use of plastics. Starting in 2003, local women's
groups began to take action to reduce the amounts of
plastic and that movement became the Suiro
programme in Bharatpur. These women's groups are
also involved in a number of welfare activities, such
as supporting the education of less able children and
providing financial help to the urban poor from the sale
of materials for recycling. Significant environmental
improvements have been achieved by the recovery of
plastic. Adoption of this technique is helping to reduce
the quantities of mixed waste and careless dumping of
waste, resulting in better drainage. This movement is
not only reducing the amounts of plastic waste in the
urban area but also making people aware of the
environmental problems caused by plastics.
Waste generation and composition
According to the data provided by the municipality and
the field survey conducted in May 2008, the HH waste
generation rate is 0.276 kg/person/day (Bharatpur
municipality, 2008 data). This rate is more than the
average value for Nepal (which is 0.25kg/capita/day)
and less than the rate for Kathmandu Metropolitan City
- 0.39kg/capita/day (SWMRMC, 2008). Using this rate,
the daily waste generation of Bharatpur municipality
is 20 tons (Bharatpur municipality, 2008 data). The
composition of the waste at source was found to be:
paper 5 per cent , plastic & rubber 7 per cent, organic
materials 70 per cent, glass and ceramic 1 per cent,
metal 2 per cent, wood 1 per cent, textiles 5 per cent,
Name of the Programme: Bharatpur Suiro Programme
Location: Bharatpur municipality (Wards no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11 and 12)
Duration of the Project: 2005 onwards
Beneficiaries: Disabled people and urban poor
Donors and Partners: TLOs, NGOs, municipality, Practical Action Nepal
Municipal Vision: Storage of plastic waste on suiro hooks (for the recovery of plastic from urban solid waste).
28 Narayangadh is also represented at Bharatpur
33