The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), which has been struggling for years to cope with managing tons of garbage produced in the Capital city, is planning to add five more new solid waste transfer centres in order to segregate solid waste.

The KMC’s latest move is aimed at reducing workload at its only garbage transfer centre in Teku, which has been holding piles of solid waste beyond its capacity.

The situation at the Teku centre worsens further with occasional obstructions from locals of Sisdole landfill site and poor condition of the road connecting Okharpauwa in Sisdole during monsoon. 

Locals in Teku, Kalimati, Kuleshwor, Sanepa and Tripureshwor areas have long been complaining of the foul smell emanating from the garbage stacked at the transfer centre. 

Following complaints from the locals, the KMC has started looking for new sites suitable for establishing such centres inside the metropolis. 

“Once the plan is materialised, people in these areas need not panic. We can easily handle the solid waste collected from the Valley,” said Hari Bahadur Kunwar, chief of the Environment Division at the KMC.

During monsoon and festive season, the metropolis faces hard time managing hundreds of tons of solid waste produced in Kathmandu. 

Around 800 metric tons of solid waste is collected from the Valley, of which waste produced from the KMC alone accounts for 450 metric tons. Around 63 percent of garbage collected in the Valley is said to be recyclable.  

Kunwar said that the KMC is also planning to train residents of the metropolis in segregating waste.

“We know it may take time, as we have to estimate costs for building infrastructure for the purpose. But we must do this at the earliest to properly deal with garbage problems,” added Kunwar.