Private Sector Participation in Solid Waste Management in Kathmandu

Private Sector Participation in Solid Waste Management in Kathmandu

Section Chief, Solid Waste Management Section
Kathmandu Metropolitan City

September 19, 2002

1.1 Overview of Kathmandu

Kathmandu Valley, which provides the physical setting for Kathamndu Metropolitan City (KMC), is situated between the latitudes 270 32’ 13” and 270 49’ 10” north and latitudes 850 11’ 31” and 850 31’ 38” east. It covers an area of about 667 sq. km and its mean elevation is about 1350m. above sea level. The valley is bowl shaped with rivers draining towards the center of the basin. The rivers merge into the Bagmati River, which drains out through the Chovar Gorge located at the southwest corner of the valley.

Kathmandu is the capital and commercial hub of the country. It is connected with other countries with only International Airport and two major highways connect with India and China. Since it is the capital of the country all the embassies are concentrate in the Valley, and particularly in Kathmandu City. But in recent years due to development in transportations, major industries have moved to the secondary cities.

The Kathmandu Valley politically divided into the three districts of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur. In addition to these three cities, there are 110 Village District Committees (VDC) within the Valley. KMC is located in the Kathmandu District and covers an area of about 50.8 sq. km..

Kathmandu Valley the prime city of the country comprising 24.1% of the national urban population and 70.4% of the valley’s total urban population in 1991. KMC’s population grew from 235,160 in 1981 to 421,258 in 1991, registering an annual growth rate of 6%. At present it is estimated that of KMC’s population will be approximately 725,000. Kathmandu is the largest city in Nepal with a population of approximately 725,000, which includes the cities of Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Thimi, and Kirtipur, as well as several villages, has population of 1.5 million.

1.2 Introduction to KMC

Mayor and deputy mayor are elected directly by people every four-year.
KMC consisted of 35 wards and each ward elects one-ward chairperson and four members every four year. Mayor, deputy mayor, 35 ward chairpersons, and 140 members form a KMC Board.
Please see the attached Organization Structure.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) consists of twelve departments including Environment Department, which is the largest of all. This department is divided into three sections; Solid Waste Management section, Mechanical Section, and Urban Environment Section. Overall KMC’s Environment Department is responsible for managing the solid waste produced in Kathmandu. Between 1980 and 1993, there existed a major project, funded by the German Government, which was responsible for waste management. KMC has 2,200 staff of which approximately 1400 are engaged in waste management.

1.3 Financial Structure
|Year |Total Exp. |Exp. SWM |Income |Income Others (Int. |Income (SWM services)|
| | | |(Gov.) |Donors) | |
|2000 |App. |App. |App. |App. |App. |
| |US$ |US$ |US$ |US$ |US$ |
| |6,500,000 |2,000,000 |3,100,000 |3,400,000 |72,000 |
|2001 |App. |App. |App. |App. |App. |
| |US$ |US$ |US$ |US$ |US$ |
| |5,200,000 |2,000,000 |3,100,000 |2,100,000 |72,000 |

2. Solid Waste Management in Kathmandu

1. Kathmandu’s Garbage

A study done in 2000 by Kathmandu Valley Mapping Program (KVMP) concluded that Kathmandu residents produce 1 liter (0.3 kg) of garbage per person per day and average loose density of garbage was found to be 0.225 ton/m3. However, previous studies estimated that the density of garbage varies from 0.25 – 0.48 ton/m3. In this study the density of garbage is kept 0.255 ton/m3 for simplicity. This means that within Kathmandu City, the waste generation is about 650 m3/day. In addition to this, it is also estimated that 30% (approximately 300 m3/day) extra waste is also generated from daytime population, waste from neighboring cities & villages and, commercial districts. Generally waste production rate in cities of the developing world is about 0.5 kg per person per day. The neighboring city of Lalitpur generates approximately 130 cubic meters of waste per day.

Kathmandu’s waste is mainly organic in nature. Although the organic content may vary depending on the location of waste generation and the season, in general two thirds of the waste is organic. The rest of the waste consists of paper, plastic, glass, inert materials (dirt, bricks, stones etc.) and various other components. The table below presents the results of a recent waste characterization study.

|S. No. |Description |% Weight Basis |
|1 |Organic |69.84 |
|2 |Paper |8.5 |
|3 |Rubber |0.54 |
|4 |Leather |0.12 |
|5 |Wood |0.73 |
|6 |Plastic |9.17 |
|7 |Bone |0.23 |
|8 |Textile |3.02 |
|9 |Ferrous Metal |0.87 |
|10 |Aluminum |0.05 |
|11 |Glass |2.5 |
|12 |Others |4.33 |
| |Total |100.00 |

Source: KMC/KVMP 2000

The main source of waste in Kathmandu is domestic waste. The city has only a few industries and most of the industries recycle their waste. The main industry is the carpet industry.

The main source of hazardous waste is medical waste from hospitals and nursing homes. Recent study conducted by Environment & Public Health Organization (ENPHO) estimates that there are 2347 beds in government and 1558 beds in private hospitals and nursing homes, which generate about 1189 kg of infectious waste per day. Most of the medical waste is discarded along with normal municipal waste.

KMC is in the process of establishing a medical waste management system for Kathmandu. KMC has completed a survey of current practice of waste management in 45 health care institutes and presented its results in a workshop. KMC has also recently drafted medical waste management guidelines and an Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the proposed medical waste management system is under way. In near future, KMC wants to establish all needed infrastructure like treatment plant, management plan, and purchase collection vehicles and it will be contract out to a private party to operate.

2. KMC’s Waste Management System

Each of the 35 wards in Kathmandu is assigned 20 to 30 sweepers. The sweepers sweep the streets and collect the garbage dumped by residents in certain locations. The garbage is loaded on to a tractor or tipper and brought to a transfer station. Garbage is also collected from 4 and 6 m3 containers, which are placed in different locations and at major sources of waste.

At the transfer station the garbage is unloaded on to a platform and some of the recyclable materials in the waste stream is removed. The rest of the garbage is put in compactors and sent to the landfill site.

At present, due to lack of proper landfill site, KMC is dumping its collected waste at Bulkhu. KMC, along with the central government, is in the process of searching for a new landfill site.

KMC currently collects approximately 600-650 m3 of waste per day. Of this, a small portion is recycled, while most of the waste is landfilled.

Summery Information on KMC’s Waste Management System:

Average Waste Generation: 1.0 liter/per/day
Estimated population of KMC: 725,000
Estimated Waste Generation from KMC: 725 m3/day
Street waste generation (assumed 10% of hh): 73 m3/day
Commercial waste (assumed 10% of hh): 73 m3/day
Waste from neighboring cities & village: 73 m3/day

Total Waste Generation 944 m3/day
Waste Collected by KMC: 650 m3/day
Waste Collected (in ton): 200 ton/day
Collected Efficiency: 70%

Total no. SWM staffs: 1400
Total no. of SWM vehicles: 100 Actual Expenditure (2000): 14,000,000 NRS

Table 1. Total Expenditure in SWM

|SN: |Headings |
|Opposition by sweepers |Meeting were held among sweepers in the presence of ward representatives and assured that their jobs|
| |were secured and would be relocated |
| |30% of sincere sweepers were kept in the same ward as a reward |
| |Ward representatives were briefed on its (PSP) importance and requested not to politicalized |
|No confidence among private sectors|Private sectors were briefed on financial cost benefits and profit they can make if carefully |
|to start program in the beginning |launched |
|without KMC’s financial assistances|Assured these private sectors that KMC will contract out all its waste collection services including|
| |door to door collection, street sweeping, and waste transportation activities to the private sectors|
| |in future. |
| |Assured private sectors that they are here to stay and it long term profit |
|No confidence among Stakeholders |Public meetings were held and assured that people will get better service and wards will be cleaner |
| |than before |
| |Assured people & ward officials that if they were not satisfied with private sectors’ performance |
| |KMC will step in immediately |
| |Assured that the fee will be within or below the tariff rate set by KMC ($0.70/hh/mo) |
| |Briefed general public regarding KMC’s financial situation and fee they pay will be utilize in |
| |improving environment of KMC |
|Inadequate technical information & |Provided technical and management trainings |
|management skill in private sectors|KMC’s technical staffs were made available all the time for them to discuss & share |

Following out comes have been gathered after completing one year:

□ These private companies are willing to continue the activities carried out by them □ They are showing interest to expand their activities to another wards □ App. 50% of people surveyed expressed that the service provided by private sectors is better and the ward is cleaner than before □ The membership increased app. 40% as soon as KMC pulled all resources (waste collection vehicle) out from those wards □ So far ten applications have filed in KMC by different private companies to contract out new wards

Benefits:
|General public |Private Sector |KMC |
|They are more concern than before because |Good profit |Better Katmandu |
|they paying service fee | | |
|They feel proud because they are doing |Long term profit |Less management burden |
|something for environment | | |
|The area is more cleaner than before |No major competition |Cost saving. KMC spends app. US$25,000 for |
| | |street sweeping and additional US$7,000 for |
| | |transportation annually per ward. So total |
| | |cost saving is app. US$22,000 per year/ward |
|They do not have to worry about waste anymore|Fairly small capital investments |More efficient and effective services |
|Door to door collection services |Good relationship with local representative &|No waste in street |
| |general public | |

4. Conclusion & Recommendations

One of the KMC’s goals is to keep Kathmandu Clean. This can only be achieved by involving private sectors and communities in solid waste management services. PSP program launched by KMC is partially successful and heading towards right direction but KMC must continuously build confidence among stakeholders.

1. Lesson Learned:

After few years of PSP experiences, KMC believes PSP can be effective tool to provide efficient and cost effective waste management services to general public. Following lessons were learned from the program: □ Confidence in PSP program □ Careful Planning & try different approaches □ Learning confidence among stakeholders □ Build confidence among stakeholders □ Make sure that there is no political interventions □ Transparent process

2. Recommendations:

□ Human Resources Development. KMC’s staffs have to be trained in PSP program □ Technically and Management trainings should be provided to private sectors on regular basis □ KMC’s must regularly monitor the process, working system, effectiveness, and gather consent of satisfaction from general public □ KMC should make sure that there is always competitions among the private sectors so that it will be cost effectives and provide quality services to public □ This a ongoing process, mistakes will be made but continue the process □ In future, KMC should change its role from providing services to public to managing PSP □ International Agencies can train staffs of KMC and private sectors

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