Status Paper

Solid Waste Management during COVID-19 CRISIS

Society of Environmental Engineers Nepal

Nepal Population (2020): 29.14 million Municipal/Urban @ 40%: 11.7 millionWaste Gen. @ 0.48 kg/day: 5600 ton/dayCost of coll. and disposal: US$ 30 /ton

Municipalties1996 532014 May 130 2014 Dec 1912015 Sept 2172017 March 263 2017 May 293

Nepal

Taking the supplies and getting the waste

Mountains

COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 Situation

First infection - Confirmed on January 23, 2020, a 31 year old student who returned from Wuhan in China

First death - Confirmed on May 14, 2020, a 29 year old female

Country-wide lockdown - Effective March 14, 2020 - Ended on June 21, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 Cases

First infection - Confirmed on January 23, 2020, a 31 year old student who returned from Wuhan in China

First death - Confirmed on May 14, 2020, a 29 year old female

Country-wide lockdown - Effective March 14, 2020 - Ended on June 21, 2020

COVID-19 outspread

As of September 09

COVID-19 outspread

Trends

Waste Management in NepalPopulation (2020): 29.14 million Municipal/Urban @ 40%: 11.7 millionWaste Gen. @ 0.48 kg/day: 5600 ton/day

Kathmandu : 1200 tons/day

COVID-19 Pandemic

Observations

- Many individuals left Kathmandu- People were in lockdown situation - Solid wastes was not collected for several

days- The weight of wastes increased as of rainy

season - Many HHs started composting and roof-top

gardening - Some precautionary measures were applied

but not continued seriously - Business as usual in collection and disposal

COVID-19 Pandemic

Observations

COVID-19 Pandemic

Observations

को भड–१९ नय ण : नेतृ वको लटमस पर ा

Waste Management Facilities No protective gear

Use of bare hands

Direct exposure

No containing of waste in plastic bags

Collection issues

Waste Management Facilities

Disposal issues

Waste Management Facilities• Sisdole landfill was planned for 2 years but running in 15th year

• Not managed well, high risk of infection and waste-worker safety not kept in check.

• Poor management system adopted by the municipal governments, leaving the waste without covering with soil, and direct discharge of leachate into the Kolpu some of the issues.

A Unique Parade !

YIMBY !

The Road Ahead for future Generation

Impact of COVID-19 on SWMWaste management in Sisdol Landfill pre and post pandemic • In normal condition (before pandemic), Sisdol landfill used to receive

more than 1,000 tons of waste per day generated from Kathmandu valley, along with Banepa municipality and some rural area of Dhading and Nuwakot district

• Designed to accommodate 3 years’ waste from Kathmandu valley, it has been serving beyond its capacity since last 12 years

• Following the lockdown, waste reaching Sisdol has significantly reduced as Hotel and restaurants are almost shut down and heavy mass of people left Kathmandu valley

• As of recent news, 6 September 2020, waste disposal at Sisdol landfill has been withheld due to lack of space

Impact of COVID-19 on SWM

Impact on Waste Workers Courtesy: Accelerator Lab, UNDP April 30, 2020)● No protective gear makes them vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.● Majority of waste-workers do not want to work due to the unaccountability of employing

entity. ● More than 30% of workers return to their home villages due to COVID-19.

Plastic Pollution Courtesy: NepaliTimes.com (July 30, 2020)● PPE, Masks, Sanitizer Bottles adding to the plastic waste. This necessary use of plastic to

reduce infection risk wastes a decade worth of effort to fight plastic pollution● A big increase in plastic waste from provision stores● Aid workers use plastic for relief packaging and use plastic plates, spoons and glasses for meal

distribution too. ● This is extra pressure in addition to the 204 tons of plastic waste generated in Nepal every day.● Experiences from other countries have shown that the amount of hospital waste could

increase by up to 600 per cent due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Response from GovernmentMoH Guideline

● Waste should be safely collected in designated containers or bins, properly labelled, treated and safely disposed of

● Alternative waste treatment method such as stream treatment, which is being used in some health care facilities of Nepal, should be employed for the treatment of infectious waste

● The waste treatment facilities should be periodically tested and validated to ensure their legitimacy using biological indicators or other assays tests

Response from NGO and Private Sectors

Response from NGO and Private Sectors

Response from NGO and Private Sectors

Response from NGO and Private Sectors

Response from NGO and Private Sectors

Guiding Philosophy

सु नेलाई सुनको माला ।भ नेलाई ………….. ।