The government has decided to initiate a campaign to promote the segregation of household, market and commercial solid wastes at the source from ward level inside Kathmandu Valley.

The Solid Waste Management Act that came into force in July 2011 states that every household should segregate waste as biodegradable and non-biodegradable prior to disposal.

According to the law, people throwing garbage at non-designated areas and public places are liable to fine up to Rs100,000 or three months imprisonment.

However, despite repeated directives from the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, there has been poor implementation of the Act at the local level.

During a meeting held last week between Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Hit Raj Pandey and officials from the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City and the municipalities in the Valley, the ministry directed the authorities to put in place measures to separate waste at the source in order to improve solid waste management.

The ministry has asked officials from the Lalitpur sub-metropolis and 20 other municipalities in the Valley to visit the Sisdol Landfill Site, the only facility for disposing the waste generated in the Valley, within a week.

According to  ministry Spokesperson Kedar Nath Sharma, the Solid Waste Management Technical Centre is directed to study long-term landfill solutions for Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts. The municipalities will also have to submit details about private sector involvement in solid waste management and the fees collected from households to manage the waste. In addition, the municipalities are directed to identify areas to manage the waste generated from public and private transportation vehicles and come up with measures to punish those found throwing garbage from vehicles.

The Investment Board Nepal is preparing to sign project development agreements with two companies—Nepwaste and Clean Valley Company—to manage garbage in the Valley. Kathmandu alone generates around 450 tonnes of garbage every day, of which 60 percent is biodegradable.