KATHMANDU, Feb 28: Kathmandu Metropolitan City has decided to impose a fine of Rs 50,000 on those who dump hospital-related harmful waste at Banchare danda, the final waste disposal site.
Rabin man Shrestha, Chief of KMC Environment Department, informed Republica that Sunaulo Parivar Nepal in KMC-5 was fined 50,000 for disposing of syringes used during medical treatment in hospitals.
According to him, KMC will take action against anyone who takes the waste prohibited by law to the site. Hospital waste management has been banned at that location. The department says that the said waste is more harmful than other general waste.
Barred from disposing of waste in Banchare Danda, garbage truck...
For the past seven months, the waste of 18 local units of the Kathmandu Valley, including KMC, has been managed at the Banchare danda site, where only general waste can be managed. Since hospital waste is considered harmful, the producers themselves have to purify it and turn it into normal waste. After that, it can be disposed of at the dumping site. Not only the waste coming out of hospitals, KMC is also preparing to bring all other types of waste by classifying them at the source. KMC started this system last July 17,2022, but it has not been implemented effectively.
Even if the waste is classified at the source and finally managed, now only in some wards the waste is classified, while in other wards all the waste is being managed in one place.
Out of the total 32 wards of the metropolis, except for the inner nine wards, waste management is being done in collaboration with private companies. The classification scheme has been implemented in all the wards but has not been implemented.
Every day, 1,200 metric tons of garbage from the valley is being managed in Banchare danda. According to the Waste Management Act issued by the government in 2011 and the Environment and Natural Resources Protection Act issued by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City in 2021, there is a legal provision to fine those who do not fulfill their obligations for urban sanitation and hygiene. In the act, there is a provision that the producer is responsible for separating waste at the source.
Since last week, KMC has started making compost from rotting waste at the transfer station at Teku. The goal of managing rotting waste in the valley itself is not immediate. KMC believes that the production of fertilizer by classifying waste at the source will help greatly when the amount of waste produced is increasing and there are problems in management. There is a problem from time to time due to lack of space when all the waste has to be managed in one place without classification. It is said that KMC will start making fertilizers in all 32 wards.
