MASTER THESIS

Waste to Energy: Solution for Municipal Solid Waste

Management in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC)

Submitted by
Sristi Silwal (s2099896)

Supervisors:
Dr. Maarten Arentsen
Prof. Dr. Joy Clancy

MASTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT

UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE
Academic year 2018/2019
Abstract
The present trend of economic development with rapid urbanization come with enormous volume of
MSW and global energy demand which is a worldwide concern. The problem is more severe in many
cities of developing nations like Kathmandu. Hence, the proper municipal solid waste management
(MSWM) system and innovating renewable energy alternatives are the primary issues to be addressed
in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). The present MSWM system is limited to waste collection and
disposal in landfill which is critically affecting environment and public health since long period.

Therefore, this research aim to investigate existing condition of MSWM and its possible impact in KMC.
Further, it directed to analyse the changes needed on current MSWM system to be improved and to
use the waste as resources for energy production by using available waste to energy (WtE)
technologies. This particular study’s assessment and analysis is typically based on secondary data and
information through several literature from different sources. Researcher also interacted informally
with officials from KMC to validate the data and information obtained from the secondary sources.

The concept of WtE approach, waste management hierarchy (WMH) and sustainable MSWM for the
efficient and systematic MSWM is explored and anlaysed. It is observed from the investigation that the
best and the most feasible WtE technology is anaerobic digestion (AD) for organic and incineration for
plastic and paper waste in KMC since KMC produces larger fraction of organic, plastic and paper waste.
The existing MSWM system does not consist of energy recovery process, as a result large waste are
landfilled which is a least prefer option in WMH.

This research developed a new framework for MSWM for KMC which integrate WtE technology for
energy recovery in the MSWM supply chain. It is believed that this element will not only play a
significant role in reducing waste that goes to landfill but also generate renewable energy at the same
time which contributes during energy demand in KMC. In addition, this proposed framework will also
add value on reducing environment and public health issues.

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Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... i
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... ii
List of tables ........................................................................................................................................... iv
List of figure ............................................................................................................................................ v
Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................................... viii
Chapter 1................................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background information ............................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem statement ....................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Research objectives ...................................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Research question......................................................................................................................... 3
1.5 Research approach and methods ................................................................................................. 3
1.5.1 Schematic presentation of analytical research framework ................................................... 4
1.5.2 Research boundary ................................................................................................................ 5
1.5.3 Statement on research ethic.................................................................................................. 6
1.6 Outlines of the thesis .................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 2................................................................................................................................................. 7
2.1 Description of the study area........................................................................................................ 7
2.2 Municipal solid waste situation in Nepal ...................................................................................... 9
2.3 Waste generation and its composition in KMC .......................................................................... 10
2.3.1 Municipal solid waste composition ..................................................................................... 10
2.3.2 Current solid waste management system in KMC ............................................................... 14
2.3.3 MSW collection, transportation and segregation ................................................................ 15
2.3.4. MSW transfer station (Teku) and final disposal at landfill (Sisdol) ..................................... 17
2.3.5 Resource recovery................................................................................................................ 20
2.3.6 Public awareness.................................................................................................................. 22
2.3.7 Special waste management ................................................................................................. 22
2.4 Institutional arrangement for the MSWM .................................................................................. 22
2.5 Resource allocation for waste management .............................................................................. 24
2.5.1 Financial and technical resources ........................................................................................ 24
2.6 MSWM planning in KMC ............................................................................................................. 26
2.7 Actors involvement in MSWM system in KMC ........................................................................... 26
2.8 Overview on solid waste management policy, law and legislation ............................................ 27
2.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 29
Chapter 3............................................................................................................................................... 30

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 3.1 Energy recovery .......................................................................................................................... 30
3.2 Waste to energy (WtE) Concept ................................................................................................. 30
3.3 Waste to energy technology options .......................................................................................... 31
3.3.1 Thermochemical conversion ................................................................................................ 32
3.3.2 Biochemical treatment ........................................................................................................ 34
3.4 Waste to energy: an opportunity for KMC for the MSWM ........................................................ 34
3.5 Energy content of MSW in KMC.................................................................................................. 35
3.5.1 Electricity generation potential from plastic and paper waste in KMC from incineration .. 36
3.6 Potentiality of bio-gas generation from organic waste in KMC .................................................. 37
3.6.1 Biogas to electricity .............................................................................................................. 38
3.7 WtE technology integration in MSWM framework for KMC ...................................................... 40
3.10 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 41
Chapter 4............................................................................................................................................... 42
4.1 Requirements for integrating WtE system in MSWM of KMC .................................................... 42
4.1.1 Management aspect ............................................................................................................ 42
4.1.2 Approach for implementing proposed framework of MSWM system in KMC .................... 43
4.1.3 Policies and legal framework ............................................................................................... 45
4.1.4 Financial aspects in term of establishing WtE plants in MSWM system ............................. 46
4.1.5 Technical aspect ................................................................................................................... 46
4.1.6 Public participation and consultation .................................................................................. 47
4.1.7 Public private partnership (PPP) .......................................................................................... 47
4.1.8 Data management, updating, and dissemination................................................................ 48
4.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 48
Chapter 5............................................................................................................................................... 49
5.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 49
5.2 Recommendation........................................................................................................................ 50
5.3 Overall reflection of this study.................................................................................................... 51
Reference .............................................................................................................................................. 53
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 62
Appendix 1: Data and information required for the research and accessing method for answering
the research main questions and sub questions .............................................................................. 62
Appendix 2: Allocation of budget for different SWM activities and expenses in KMC .................... 63
Appendix 3: Percentage of expense on different activities of MSWM in KMC ................................ 63
Appendix 4: Opportunity and benefits from new proposed MSWM system in KMC ...................... 63

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List of tables

Table 1: Solid waste generation and collection efficiency in Kathmandu Metropolitan City ................ 10
Table 2: Total allocated municipal budget and SWM budget in KMC from fiscal year 2010/11 to
2013/14 ................................................................................................................................................. 25
Table 3: Number of human resource engaged in MSWM in KMC in 2014 ............................................ 26
Table 4: Fractional content of MSW composition of KMC and heat value of solid waste composition on
dry condition in million Btu/ton and MWh unit (Shrestha et al., 2014) ................................................ 35
Table 5: Fractional content, heat value, electricity generation of plastic and paper waste in million
Btu/ton and MWh. ................................................................................................................................ 37
Table 6: Estimation of biogas and methane production from organic waste of KMC ........................... 38
Table 7: Estimation of electricity generation from methane from the biodegradation of organic waste
of KMC. .................................................................................................................................................. 39

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List of figure

Figure 1: Schematic presentation of analytical research framework ...................................................... 4

Figure 2: Map of the study area (Kathmandu Metropolitan City) ........................................................... 8
Figure 3: The composition and type of municipal waste in 58 municipalities in Nepal ........................... 9
Figure 4: Type of disposal method for dumping MSW in municipalities in Nepal ................................. 10
Figure 5: Household waste composition in KMC in % ........................................................................... 11
Figure 6: Institutional waste composition in KMC in % ......................................................................... 12
Figure 7: Commercial waste composition in KMC in % ......................................................................... 12
Figure 8: Average waste composition in KMC in %................................................................................ 13
Figure 9: Organic waste composition from different source in KMC in % ............................................. 14
Figure 10 : Current MSWM system in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) ........................................ 15
Figure 11: Garbage pile in road side inside Kathmandu city.................................................................. 16
Figure 12: Waste pile in transfer station, Teku ready to transport to landfill without segregation ...... 17
Figure 13: One of the main river of KMC is littered by waste ................................................................ 17
Figure 14: Teku transfer station (surrounded by residential building) .................................................. 18
Figure 15: The Sisdol landfill for dumping MSW from Kathmandu in Okharpauwa, Nuwakot district .. 19
Figure 16: Untreated leachate discharge from Sisdol landfill affecting environment ........................... 20
Figure 17: Informal sector engagement in recycling of MSW in KMC ................................................... 21
Figure 18: Institutional arrangement for the MSWM in Nepal .............................................................. 23
Figure 19: Institutional arrangement of KMC for MSWM ..................................................................... 24
Figure 20: SWM policy and legislation in Nepal in chronological order ................................................ 27
Figure 21: WMH based on the EU directive 2008/98/EC and European commission 2016 .................. 29
Figure 22: Waste to energy technologies .............................................................................................. 31
Figure 23: Incineration flow chart which shows the thermal treatment technology ............................ 32
Figure 24: Pyrolysis process flow diagram for municipal solid waste treatment in urban environment
.............................................................................................................................................................. 33
Figure 25: Schematic of MSW gasification and power generation plant ............................................... 33
Figure 26: Anaerobic digestion of organic municipal waste .................................................................. 34
Figure 27: Anaerobic digestion process and electricity generation from biogas ................................... 39
Figure 28: The proposed MSWM framework for Kathmandu Metropolitan City .................................. 40
Figure 29: Comparison between current MSWM and proposed framework for sustainable MSWM
based on waste management hierarchy in KMC ................................................................................... 42

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Acronyms

3R Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

AD Anaerobic Digestion
ADB Asian Development Bank
AEPC Alternative Energy Promotion Centre
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
CBS Central Bureau of Statistic
CEN Clean Energy Nepal
DEFRA The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
DGIS Directorate General for International Cooperation
ENPHO Environment and Public Health Organization
EPA Environment Protection Agency
EU European Union
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GHG Green House Gas
HHs Households
IBN Investment Board Nepal
ISWM Integrated Solid Waste Management
KMC Kathmandu Metropolitan City
kWh Kilo Watt Hour
LGCDP Local Governance and Community Development Programme
MoEST Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology
MoFAGA Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration
MoFALD Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development
MoHA Ministry of Home Affairs
MoI Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Supply
MoPH Ministry of Population and Health
MoUD Ministry of Urban Development
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
MSWM Municipal Solid Waste Management
MW Mega Watt
MWh Mega Watt Hour
NEA Nepal Electricity Authority

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NGO National Government Organization
NPC National Planning Commission
OAG Office of Auditor General
PPP Public Private Partnership
PPSF Policy and Programme Support Facility
PSO Private Sector Organization
SDG sustainable Development Goal
SSWM Sustainable Solid Waste Management
SWMRMC Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilization Centre
SWMTSC Solid Waste Management Technical Support Center
ToE Ton of Oil Equivalent
UN United Nations
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
US Unite States
USD United States Dollar
WFD Waste Framework Directives
WMH Waste Management Hierarchy
WMW Waste Management World
WtE Waste to Energy

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Acknowledgement
I would like to thank University of Twente for providing me incredible opportunity to do master. My
sincere gratitude to my first supervisor Professor Dr. Maarten Arentsen for his continuous guidance and
instruction on building idea and writing this thesis report. His positive and clear feedback always
motivated me to focus on the subject matter that helped me to complete this report on given
timeframe. Likewise, I would like express my sincere thanks to my second supervisor Professor Dr. Joy
Clancy for her valuable support and guidance regarding the research idea and writing thesis report with
very positive responses.

Furthermore, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the course coordinator Ms. Rinske
Koster for the continuous support and kindness during my study period. Likewise, my gratitude goes to
Ms. Marjan Schonenberg for her help and study advisor, Ms. Sietie Zuidema for giving valuable advises
regarding study. Similarly, my special gratitude to the director of this master programme, Professor Dr.
Michiel Heldeweg and other professors and lecturers involved in this master programme.

Likewise, I would like to thank to officials of Environment Management Department of KMC for
providing data and information regarding MSWM in KMC and their time. Likewise, my thanks goes to
officials from AEPC for providing me information regarding biogas in Nepal.

I would like to extend my special gratitude to my family for their unconditional love, continuous support
and guidance which are the key motivation and strength in my journey. Finally I would like to thank to
my friends who helped me during my study time.

Sristi Silwal

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Chapter 1
This chapter explains the overall background information of the existing scenario of municipal solid
waste (MSW) and its management system in Nepal with particular focus in Kathmandu Metropolitan
City (KMC). Waste to energy (WtE) technology as solution for the waste management is also briefly
explained. Furthermore, it includes problem statement, research objectives, research questions, brief
overview of methods used and finally the chapter ends with outline of the thesis report.

1.1 Background information

The volume of MSW has been increasing due to rapid population growth and disorganized urbanization
in most of the developing countries such as Nepal. The management for this MSW is appeared as key
environmental issue to be concerned. The rising economic development and fast growing urban
population are the major reasons for the generation of enormous amount of MSW and Kathmandu is
one of the city suffering from this problem.

Nepal government has designated 6 metropolitan, 11 sub metropolitan , 246 municipalities and 460
rural municipalities and that are gradually changing to urban center with development of
infrastructures (LGCDP: PPSF UN, 2017). This is aiding the volume of solid waste and creating pressure
to the environment. 18 municipalities of Kathmandu Valley1 alone is producing around 850 to 900 tons
of MSW per day (Environment department of KMC, 2018). The disposal and treatment of this massive
amount of waste is a critical issues in the capital city where MSWM system is limited to collection and
disposal in landfill and open dumping sites without taking consideration of environment and resources
recovery. The proper management system and treatment of MSW in KMC is very poor. This has resulted
unpleasant city environment and pollution due to the haphazard stockpiles (such as corners, market,
riverbanks and open community space) of waste garbage (G.C. 2018).

Many aspects such as insufficient financial, human and technical resources and lengthy bureaucratic
procedures as well as political influences are the major challenges for establishing appropriate MSWM
system in Nepal. Likewise, the MSWM has never been considered as important issue in Nepal, because
the demand for other public services such as food, road, energy and healthcare is high in all
municipalities of the country take priority (ADB, 2013).

Many European countries has adopted the integrated solid waste management (ISWM) system where
landfilling is the least preferred option and their share of wastes goes to the landfill is in very less
amount when compare to total generated waste (WMW, 2013). Example can be taken from

1
Kathmandu Valley comprises of three district which are Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

1
Netherlands, where only 2% to 3 % of the total generated waste end up in the landfill site 2 (WMW,
2013). The comparison of Nepal with developed countries does not seem feasible, nevertheless, the
adoption of the knowledge, efficient technology, and sound governance practice can be the inspiration
for developing countries like Nepal to move forward towards efficient MSWM. Nepal is not yet in this
progressive pathway and still practicing the traditional MSWM as generation-collection-disposal
approach. Concerning MSWM process, the least preferred options is the landfilling which can cause the
adverse impact to the environment and public health.

Regarding the MSW composition in KMC, large volume of MSW is shared by organic fraction which is
directly dumped in landfill and some inorganic waste are either sold to neighboring country or in local
market and remaining waste dumped into landfill. The organic waste can have a potential of generating
energy via WtE technology and rest of the waste can be reused and recycled which can contribute to
reduce the MSW problem in KMC. Hence, the adoption of appropriate WtE technology can be the
promising solution for the MSWM in KMC and the generated energy can contribute to meet energy
demand. For this, the current system requires to transform into more practical and environment
friendly system for MSWM in KMC.

1.2 Problem statement

As mentioned above that MSWM is a major problem in Kathmandu city as it is in many cities of
developing countries. The rapid population growth and the continuous economic development for
meeting their demands is a major cause. For instance, Nepal’s urban population is increased by 3.18%
annually (CBS, 2011). About one third of Nepal’s urban population is living in the capital city, Kathmandu
and the population is growing even faster by 4.78% annually (CBS, 2014) increasing the waste problem.
The lack of proper and effective MSWM system in KMC has created risk on quality of environment and
human health.

Despite the initiatives of the Government of Nepal- by amending legislation, such as the Solid Waste
Management Act in 2011, the problems has not diminished. However, adoption of WtE technology in
MSWM system can be the appropriate solution to deal with this problem. Hence, in this thesis research,
researcher has analyzed the different WtE technology and investigate suitable WtE technology for KMC
according to the MSW composition. However, the WtE concept and technology is new and hardly
explored in Nepal.

2
https://waste-management-world.com/a/landfill-a-victim-of-dutch-success

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1.3 Research objectives

The general research objective of this study is to develop knowledge on how Kathmandu could reduce
the environmental impact from its current MSWM practice by adopting waste management technology
based on WtE.

Specific objectives are:

1. To assess and analyse the current municipal solid waste management (MSWM) practice
2. To identify the composition of MSW and its total volume through secondary literature
3. To assess and analyse the impacts from current MSWM
4. To identify the changes in current MSWM practice to organize WtE system
5. To design WtE system framework (model) for efficient MSWM system in KMC

1.4 Research question

The main research question:

What changes are needed to use the waste as resource in Kathmandu Metropolitan City for energy
production?

Sub questions:

1. How is the current MSWM system in KMC organized with what results?
2. How could a MSWM system according to concept of WtE look like for KMC?

3. What changes in the current MSWM system of Kathmandu are needed for transforming it into
a WtE system?

1.5 Research approach and methods

This research is basically based on desk study with the help of various literatures as required. Therefore,
the method of this research is simple however researcher tried to apply the systematic research design
to conduct study smooth and in a systematic manner.

The research design refers to the strategic framework that interlink research question and execution
as well as it serves to implement the research strategy (Durrheim, 2004). Simply, the research design is
the overall strategy to incorporate different components of the research in a logical and organized
fashion to answer the research questions. Therefore, this section covers the approaches and methods
to answer the research questions in a strategic way to generate recommendations of proper MSWM
system based on waste to energy approach in KMC.

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Verchuren and Doorewaard 2010, defined research material as “defining and operationalizing the key
concept of the research objectives and the set of research questions”. This particular research is
conducted using secondary data and information. Therefore, different information and data are
collected through various in-depth literature review from several scientific research paper, relevant
documents from various organizations, observation, and informal key informant interview with
stakeholders within research unit3.

Several literature about MWSM system and its problem are assessed and analyzed particular focus on
KMC. Likewise, observation and depth analysis of WtE approach, specific focus on generating energy
from organic, plastic and paper waste is carried out to know its feasibility in KMC.

In addition, key informant interview with officials (who are responsible for MSWM) provided
information to justify the collected data and information from the secondary sources. For this, the
informant from KMC office and from Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) were asked
information related to the research questions. These information from informant are used to validate
data and information obtained from different secondary literature and documents. The table on
appendix 1 describes the data and information required to answer the research questions, sources of
the data and method for accessing and analyzing data for answering the research questions. For this,
analytical framework is developed and qualitative analysis methods is applied in an exploratory
approach which brought the comprehensive perspective on sustainable MSWM system for KMC.

1.5.1 Schematic presentation of analytical research framework

Figure 1: Schematic presentation of analytical research framework

3
Municipal solid waste management is the research unit in which waste to energy (WtE) approach for MSWM
for KMC is the observation unit

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The data and information are analysed in a following sequential order.
1. First step in analytical framework helped to assess and analyse the current status of MSWM in
KMC with the help of literatures and available documents. Also, the present challenges arise
from unsystematic MSWM is assessed and analysed.
2. Second step follows the creation of an inventory of WtE approaches and technologies
particularly based on secondary literature. This step forms a conceptual model for applying the
WtE system in KMC.
3. The second step helped to build the third step to bring the new perspective with conceptual
model which can be used to manage MSW in KMC. This step built next step as main analysis of
this result.
4. In this step, the finding and results from this sequential order is vigorously analysed with
effective conclusion that can be applied for the implementation of WtE system in KMC.
5. This step brought the recommendations specifically based on result of analysis of this particular
study. This step answered the main research question with recommendation of needful change
in current MSWM system with new design of MSWM system based on WtE technology to use
waste as resource for energy production in KMC.

1.5.2 Research boundary

The research boundary explains the limitations of research performed and its consistency. The research
limitations for this particular study are described as: experiment such as conversion of waste into
energy using technology is not performed for the analysis. The research covered mostly the qualitative
analysis however, for the quantitative analysis, data on MSW include only households, commercial and
institutional wastes while other MSW produced from public places and medical waste from hospital are
not analysed which requires special procedures. In addition, the data and information about the MSWM
in KMC is not adequate and not updated since long time. Hence, this research is ultimately reliant on
only accessible data. It is needed that KMC update data in regular basis so that the intervention on
MSWM will be well planned and up scaled. Besides this, different dimension of sustainability such as
social which include the social issue related to informal worker whose livelihood is dependent on
current MSWM activities could not be assessed adequately since this research is particularly focused
on technical analysis part and also due to time limitation. Likewise, economic analysis such as cost
benefit analysis of WtE technologies has not been considered due to time limitation and designed
research framework. In addition, political dimension has not been explained explicitly whereas different
policies in different time period regarding SWM in Nepal has been explained and analyzed to formulate
recommendations.

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1.5.3 Statement on research ethic

For this research, ethical sensitivity for collecting data and information is considered as irrelevant since
there is no involvement of human and animals. Nevertheless, the main goal of this research is to
develop a new framework for MSWM for KMC, hence, the ethical research principles are valued and
followed during data assessing and gathering, analysis and reporting. Likewise, regarding ethical issues
or conflict of interest in this research project, it is believed that risk and inconvenience are minimum in
case of tackling data and information. Likewise, this research finding will not deliver such unethical
issues, conflicts and dilemmas.

1.6 Outlines of the thesis

This research report is structured into five chapters comprising this chapter. Chapter two provides the
description of study area (KMC), Current MSW generation and management in Nepal and KMC with
discretion with various MSWM elements, institutional arrangement for the MSWM, overview on solid
waste management policy, law and legislation and stakeholder involvement in MSWM system in KMC.
Furthermore, it explains the waste management hierarchy system for MSWM. Chapter three elaborates
more on different WtE technology and its application for energy recovery. It also presents the energy
situation in Nepal so that this background information helps to interlink between waste and energy.
Similarly, this will include the opportunity of energy recovery from waste with energy calculation, and
this chapter end with potential foreseeable design for MSWM system which integrates WtE technology.
Hence, chapter three primarily provide the answer of second sub question. Chapter four is basically for
the comparison of current MSWM system and new proposed design of MSWM for KMC which also
describes different factors/aspects for transforming the current MSWM system to more sustainable
management system based on WtE technology approach. Further, it analyses the need for changing
the current MSWM system in KMC. Chapter five delivers the conclusion and recommendations. This
chapter concludes all the chapters and answer the research main question. Furthermore, it includes
overall reflection of this research.

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Chapter 2
This chapter covers the basic overview of the main concept required by this research which are based
on the prior research, scientific journals, reports, data and information from different sources. For this,
the chapter begins with description of the study site, current MSWM system and institutional
arrangement for the MSWM. In addition, the existing SWM legislation and policy are described at the
end of this chapter.

2.1 Description of the study area

Kathmandu Metropolitan City lies between the latitudes 27032’13’’ and 27049’10” to the north and
longitudes 85011’13” and 85031’38” to the east with an altitude around 1400 meter above sea level
(masl) (CBS, 2012). It has total area of 50.67 sq. km (KMC, 2019). Kathmandu is the capital city of Federal
Democratic Republic of Nepal and is also the administrative center of Nepal (UN, Habitat, 2015). The
highest population growth rate was recorded in Kathmandu district by 61.23 % during the last decade
(CBS, 2012). KMC is sub divided into 32 different wards4. Kathmandu is the nation’s most populous city
which comprises 1,003,285 population (which is 24.3% of total urban population) with 254,764
households and has the population density of 20,289 per sq. km (CBS, 2012). The resident of KMC is
escalating by 4.78% annual growth rate (CBS, 2014) which is recorded as the highest expanding
metropolitan area in South Asia (World Bank 2013).

4
Municipality is divided into further local unit as different ward according to administrative division of Nepal.

7
Figure 2: Map of the study area (Kathmandu Metropolitan City)

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2.2 Municipal solid waste situation in Nepal
In Nepal, generation of solid waste depend upon the geographical region. There are three distinct
region according to altitude range which are mountain, hills and Terai (flat land). The generation of
average households waste of mountain region (northern part), hilly region (mid hills) and Terai
(southern part) region are 0.49 kg/HHs, 0.72 kg/HHs and 0.88 Kg/HHs respectively and average per
capita waste generation in Nepal is 0.32 kg/day (ADB, 2013). ADB surveyed 58 municipalities to assess
the MSWM during 2011 to 2012. This report reveals that the total MSW from these municipalities is
524,000 tons per year. The composition of the waste is mostly recyclable and non-hazardous and the
volume of the waste per capita is less in comparison to developed countries (ADB, 2013 and UNEP,
2001). The dominant source of MSW generation is households in Nepal. The composition of municipal
waste are generally organic, plastics, paper and paper products, glass, metals textiles, rubbles and
leather and others. The organic waste shares the highest volume in comparison to other waste in Nepal.
However, the volume and composition of MSW is governed by living standard and economic status of
the community and households (ADB, 3013). The following figure 3 shows the MSW composition in 58
municipalities of Nepal in 2013 and figure 4 presents the different disposal methods used by the
municipalities for dumping their MSW

Figure 3: The composition and type of municipal waste in 58 municipalities in Nepal

Source: Adb.org, 2013

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 Figure 4: Type of disposal method for dumping MSW in municipalities in Nepal

Source: ADB, 2013

2.3 Waste generation and its composition in KMC

Waste volume and its composition are the key components though they are dependent on different
variable such as urbanization, living standard of community, population growth and economic activities
should be addressed during the formulation of plan and system for MSWM (ADB, 2013). The municipal
waste in KMC is generated from residential waste from household and nonresidential waste from
commercial buildings and institutions (ADB, 2013). The table 1 illustrates the total waste generated
from different sectors in KMC where total waste generated per day is 466.14 tons which consists 233.07
tons/day from households waste and 203.49 tons/day from commercial waste and 29.58 tons/day from
institutional waste (ADB, 2013). The waste has been increased as the population growth is constantly
increasing in Kathmandu and currently, about 600 to 700 tons of waste is generated per day in KMC5.
The per capita waste generated in KMC is 0.23 kg/person (ADB, 2013).

Table 1: Solid waste generation and collection efficiency in Kathmandu Metropolitan City

Average Average per Total HH Total Total Total MSW Estimated Collection
household capita HH waste commercial institutional generation waste efficiency
waste waste (tons/day) waste waste (tons/day) collection (%)
(kg/day) (kg/capita/day) (tons/day) (tons/day) (tons/day)
1.10 0.23 233.07 203.49 29.58 466.14 405 86.90
Source: ADB, 2013

2.3.1 Municipal solid waste composition

Office of the Auditor General (OAG) in 2015 stated that MSW composition is essential equally as of its
quantity because every waste has its own characteristics and this has to be understood to manage

5
Based on the information obtained from deputy director of environment management department, Teku.

10
different waste separately and some waste needs exceptional treatment as well. Basically, MSW
consists of organic and inorganic waste. The organic waste is the biodegradable waste which comprises
green waste, food waste and wood waste and can be broken down into carbon dioxide, methane or
simple organic molecule in the presence of microorganism. Inorganic waste generally comprise of
paper, plastic, metal, rubber, leather and textiles and others (Ghanimeh et al., 2012). The composition
of MSW depend upon the culture and tradition of inhabitants, consumer lifestyle, food habits, climate
and economic status (ADB, 2013). The following pie charts represent the overall waste composition
from different source in KMC.

Household waste composition

The household waste composition of KMC is shown by figure 5 which noticeably illustrates that organic
waste shares the large fraction of total waste which is 64.24% followed by plastic (about 16%), paper
(about 9%), glass (about 9%) and textiles (3%). Metal, rubber and leather and other inert waste share
about 4% of total waste.

Household waste composition in KMC in %

3.4 1.12 1.15
1.72
3.75 Organic waste
Plastics
8.66 papers
Glass
15.69 Metals
64.24 Textiles
Rubber and leather
others

Figure 5: Household waste composition in KMC in %

Source: ADB, 2013

Institutional waste composition

Institutional waste from school, colleges and office consist highest percentage of paper (approx.44%)
which is followed by plastic (approx.25%) and organic waste (approx.20%). Other waste such as glass,
metal, textiles, rubber and leather and other waste cover about 11%. It can be noticed that the high
amount of plastic and paper mean it can be reused and recycled.

11
 Institutional waste composition in KMC in %
3.89 3.35
1.14
1.13 Organic waste
1.37
Plastics
20.29
papers
Glass
Metals

24.55 Textiles
44.28
Rubber and leather
others

Figure 6: Institutional waste composition in KMC in %

Source: ADB, 2013

Commercial waste composition

Commercial waste composition shows that organic waste fraction is lower that other inorganic waste,
though it shares about 45% solely in total waste. This also signifies that organic waste has good prospect
to convert into energy and compost whereas other waste such as plastic and paper which share about
48% of total waste can be reused and recycled.

Commercial waste composition in KMC in %

2.65 1.03 0
0.45 Organic waste
2.86
Plastics
papers
Glass
23.29
45.44 Metals
Textiles
Rubber and leather
others
24.29

Figure 7: Commercial waste composition in KMC in %

Source: ADB, 2013

Total municipal composition in average in KMC

12
The figure 8 shows that the organic volume of waste is highest (43%) which is followed by paper (25%),
plastic (22%), textiles (3%) and glass (3%). Other waste such as metals, rubber and leather waste
comprise about 4%. The maximum share of organic waste in MSW indicate that it has great potential
for energy recovery and compost. The maximum organic waste require frequent collection and removal
of waste from source (ADB, 2013) due to its fast decomposition character. It is observed from the data
that inorganic waste comprise about 55% of total MSW such as paper, plastic, glass, textile, rubber and
leather which can be primarily reused and recycled from the waste recovery process and the rest is
inert waste material (only about 2 %) has to go landfill.

Average MSW composition in KMC in %

2.77
1.65
1.83 0.75 Organic waste
2.66 Plastics
papers
Glass
43.32 Metals
25.41
Textiles
Rubber and leather
others

21.51

Figure 8: Average waste composition in KMC in %

Source: ADB, 2013

Organic waste generation

Household is the main source of MSW in KMC which comprise 64.24 % which is followed by commercial
waste about 45% of total MSW while institution is the least in total waste (20%). The figure 9 noticeably
illustrate that the share of organic waste from household is high in total MSW.

13
 Organic waste composition from different source in KMC in %

20.29 Household waste

64.24
Commercial waste
45.44
Institutional waste

Figure 9: Organic waste composition from different source in KMC in %

Source: ADB, 2013

It is observed that the organic, paper and plastic are the dominant waste fraction of KMC’s MSW which
share around 43%, 25% and 22% of total waste respectively. About 57% of MSW is inorganic which
shows the good prospective of waste recovery or recycling excluding approximately 2% of inert waste
material that can be landfilled.

It can be distinctly observed that the use of plastic and paper has been increasing which is now an
integral part of the lifestyle of people where every products and goods are packaged mostly by plastic
and paper over the years. This can be seen in plastic waste data in KMC’s MSW composition that there
appears to be a significant increased from 5.4% in 2005 to 12% in 2007 (Dangi et al., 2008 and Dangi et
al., 2011). Furthermore, the plastic in MSW has increased to 22% approx. in 2013 (ADB, 2013). The
rapid increase in use of plastic materials might be due its several functions as well as light and durability
and cost effective.

2.3.2 Current solid waste management system in KMC

The municipal waste management system in KMC is very basic and it does not have proper waste
management practice. The following flow chart (figure 10) of waste management shows the overall
waste management practice in KMC. This chart clearly shows that the system lacks formal recycling and
reutilization facilities and most of the waste ended in Sisdol landfill site located at Okharpauwa,
Nuwakot district. Likewise, the MSWM supply chain completely lacks the waste segregation at source.

14
 Figure 10 : Current MSWM system in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC)

Note: This flow chart is developed from reference of Luitel and Khanal, 2010 and KMC, 2019

2.3.3 MSW collection, transportation and segregation

The study conducted by ADB in 2013 in 58 municipalities of Nepal found that about 30 % household
practice segregation of waste at source. It means that about 70% household goes for collection and
disposal by the municipalities in the form of mixed waste. Generally household from rural areas
segregate kitchen waste for their domestic purpose e.g. feeding cattle. In Kathmandu, it is also found
that due to lack of separate collection and treatment method sometimes segregated waste at source
also mixed again during collection and transportation.

Well-organized and planned waste collection, its transportation and segregation from source are
another significant elements of the MSWM system in municipality. The collection methods employed
in most of the municipalities of Nepal including KMC are door to door collection, container service, and
roadside collection from container or open pile of waste. Although KMC is accountable for the MSW
collection and transportation to landfill from 32 wards of KMC, there is a presence of partnership
between different private sector organizations and NGOs (OAG, 2015) for this activity. According to
ADB 2013, it was estimated that 405 tons waste per day was successfully collected with the efficiency
of 86.90% (table 1) but due to the lack of appropriate scientific data system, this data could be an
overestimation by the municipality (ADB, 2013). The lack of research on waste collection and its
quantity, transportation and storage could be one of the primary cause of restriction for developing
efficient SWM plan and system.

15
Report published by OAG in 2015 reported that there are 1100 employees including from
administration staffs were involved in the SWM activities, where 135 drivers were collecting and
transporting waste from KMC to landfill site in 2014. Data presented in the table 3.

Likewise, there are 152 different vehicles allocated for collection and transportation of the MSW of
KMC in which only 99 vehicles are functional (Environment Department of KMC, 2018). Furthermore,
the existing vehicles are mostly old and are not in proper condition. This added the nuisance in
environment due to overloaded waste in limited vehicle and not covered properly during collection and
transporting to landfill (OAG, 2015) and sometimes due to limited number of vehicle cause delay in
transporting of waste. This lead to the mass accumulation of waste along the roadside, open space and
river side for a long time that creates threat to human health and environment. Furthermore, the
monsoon rain damaged the road to Sisdol landfill site which obstruct the collection and transport of
waste from KMC which results into unbearable stench emanating from waste littered in roads and open
space (The Kathmandu Post, 2019) which portrays this scenario by the figure 11. Sometimes this
unpleasant smell can lead to create public pressure to the concerned authority to respond and act
quickly.

Figure 11: Garbage pile in road side inside Kathmandu city

Source: The Kathmandu Post, 2019

16
 Figure 12: Waste pile in transfer station, Teku ready to transport to landfill without segregation

Source: Photo taken by researcher on July 1st 2019

Figure 13: One of the main river of KMC is littered by waste

Source: Photo taken by researcher on July 1st 2019

2.3.4. MSW transfer station (Teku) and final disposal at landfill (Sisdol)

MSW transfer station and its final disposal is equally important in entire waste management supply
chain since disposal is final step after the transfer of waste in MSWM system. Teku transfer station was

17
built for storing waste before transporting to Sisdol landfill, since transporting huge volume of waste in
small vehicle over long distance and poor quality roads is often difficult. That is why, the waste collected
from KMC is taken to Teku transfer station and then is transferred to landfill site. This transfer station
is extended to 2 hectare area (CEN and ENPHO, 2004) and can hold 10,000 tons of MSW which is
surrounded by residential area (OAG, 2015). Waste from 12 ward of KMC is taken to this transfer station
from municipality and rarely separate recyclable and reusable waste. KMC transport this waste to the
landfill for final disposal and here informal waste picker segregate recyclable waste from the bulk. In
case of PSOs, they transfer waste in open public place such as road side and river side after collection
from different collection points of 20 wards of KMC. Informal waste picker separate recyclable waste
from this public area. However, most of the time, PSOs transfer directly to landfill side for final disposal.
The sorted waste from informal waste picker and also from PSOs are sold to local scrap dealer (both
small scale and large scale wholesaler), small recycling industries in Nepal and also exported to
neighboring country India for further processing to produce new products. There is no sophisticated
system used for segregating waste since segregation process is done by hand without proper
equipment.

Figure 14: Teku transfer station (surrounded by residential building)

Source: Photo taken by researcher on July 1st 2019

18
 Figure 15: The Sisdol landfill for dumping MSW from Kathmandu in Okharpauwa, Nuwakot district

Source: KMC, 2018

According to department of environment of KMC, 2018, around 900 to 1000 tons of MSW is
transported and dumped into the landfill daily from all the municipalities of Kathmandu Valley including
KMC. However the Sisdol landfill is a semi aerobic sanitary landfill, so it does not meet the standard of
sanitary landfill of national standard guideline for municipality prepared by SWMTSC which exposes
surrounding environment to pollute air, contribute to climate change (GHGs emission) and water (from
leachate6) (OAG, 2015). Waste transferred in this landfill are basically organic and is biodegradable
which can be converted into bio energy and compost if appropriate technology is implemented.
However, due to lack of effective SWM system, these valuable waste are dumped and exploited in
limited area of landfill. OAG 2015 reported that the Sisdol landfill overly used whose life span is already
expired since it was designed for 2 to 3 years in 2005.

6
Leachate is the liquid material drains from landfill which contains dissolve and suspended materials (organic,
inorganic, heavy metals and pathogen) (Osterath, 2010 and Raghab et al., 2013) that pollutes the surface and
ground water and has potential to affect human health and environment (Mishra, Tiwary & Ohri, 2018). Leachate
results from the rain water that percolate the landfill and also the moisture that present in the MSW (Raghab et
al., 2013).

19
 Figure 16: Untreated leachate discharge from Sisdol landfill affecting environment

Source: KMC, 2018

2.3.5 Resource recovery

Resource recovery in MSWM involves with the processing of recovering energy or different product
from MSWM for another use. This strategies primarily aims to reduce environmental, economic and
social burden for the municipality from the MSW to be landfilled7. The resource recovery in waste
management hierarchy stand as reduce, reuse and recycle which ultimately helps to reduce MSW and
generate energy.

In the case of MSWM in KMC, resource recovery is not performed formally and adequately although
the SMW Act 2011 has emphasized on 3 R principle of waste management, reduce, reuse and recycle.
However, some resident of KMC has been practicing 3R waste management at household level such as
composting from organic waste.

Recycling

Recycling of MSW in KMC is basically carried out by non-government body such as NGOs, CBOs, private
sector, informal group including waste picker and scavengers. The recyclable waste from HHs,

7
https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/resource-
recovery (accessed on August 10th, 2019)

20
commercial and institutes are collected by private sector and sell to scrap dealer and finally export to
India for further processing by large scale wholesaler as shown in the MSWM flow chart (figure 10).
These waste generally contain paper, bottle, and metal and about 150 tons/day of these waste are
collected in Kathmandu Valley including KMC (SWMTSC, 2013). However, these private sectors are
operating this activities without obtaining license and coordinating with public authority as SWM act
2011 mentioned that the entire MSWM activities should be carried out by municipality (OAG, 2015).

The following figure 17 represent informal sector involvement in the informal recycling system in the
developing countries. And this informal recycling system consists of at least four main categories
depending on the place of waste recovery which is resemble to the current scenario of MSWM in KMC.
The first is itinerant waste buyers buy specific recyclable waste from door to door. Second is street
waste picker who collects waste from mixed waste thrown on the road and public places. Third is
municipal waste collection crew where secondary raw material are recovered from container or truck
that transport waste to landfill. Fourth is waste picking from dumping area where scavengers segregate
recyclable waste from final disposing waste (Wilson et al., 2006). These actors play an important role in
collection of reusable and recyclable waste in KMC.

Figure 17: Informal sector engagement in recycling of MSW in KMC

Source: Wilson, Velis & Cheeseman, 2006

Composting and Energy recovery (WtE)

The composting of biodegradable waste is another resource recovering process. The MSW composition
is highly organic with great potential for composting as well. However, this has been practiced in
household level for kitchen garden and some private company in small scale. WtE is the process of

21
recovering energy from waste is a new concept in Nepal. However in 2016, KMC started a pilot project,
biogas plant in Teku to generate energy from vegetable waste collected from Kalimati vegetable market
which use 3 tons vegetable waste per day and generate 400 kWh/day energy and 300 m3/day of biogas
and 200 kg/day of compost (KMC, 2018). The generated energy is used in KMC office. The plan is to
replicate this project to large scale, however, no plan has been documented yet.

2.3.6 Public awareness

Most of waste are generated from households in KMC. Hence, the public participation and consultation
is essential for the establishment of efficient and robust SWM system. One of the key challenges of
SWM is lack of public consciousness and knowledge on SWM that is also observed in case of MSWM in
KMC (ADB, 2013). According to SWM act of 2011, Nepal, waste segregation as organic and inorganic is
most important at source and this should be recognized by public. For this, environment department
of KMC had formed a community mobilization unit which is working closely with different groups of
community for raising awareness and providing them with training and necessary support and also
promotion of 3R principle for the efficient SWM in KMC (Water Aid, 2008). Although providing and
delivering all mentioned awareness programme and effort delivered by KMC, many people and even
staff of municipality are still unaware of proper SWM (ADB, 2013). OAG 2015 stated that various
organization are actively involved in awareness programme for sustainable SWM and cleaning up
activities implemented in school level as well. However, the waste separation at source and haphazard
disposing of waste is still in practice in KMC.

2.3.7 Special waste management

Special waste refers to the waste generated from construction and industries, waste from medical
centers, lab and dead animals. These waste need a careful and systematic approach to be managed
separately from MSW and to ensure that it is not mixed with MSW. In case of KMC, though most of the
hospital use incinerator to burn these special waste, however, there is no proper slaughterhouse seen
and dead animal are mostly thrown in a river, open public space or dumped in landfill (ADB, 2013).

2.4 Institutional arrangement for the MSWM

SWM is one of the basic essential services that need to be provided by municipalities to keep urban
centers clean under the Local Government Operation Act 2017 and Solid Waste Management Act of
2011 and Regulation 2013. Likewise, solid waste management technical support center (SWMTSC) is
the key stakeholder for providing support to municipalities in SWM and Ministry of Federal Affairs and
General Administration (MoFAGA) facilitates municipalities for finding technical and financial support
from international organizations and also support in MSWM activities in overall (OAG, 2015). SWMTSC

22
is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Federal and Local Development (MoFAGA). MoFAGA is
responsible for formulating policies, implementing, monitoring and also reviewing all the policies and
strategies related to sanitation and sewerage, MoUD is responsible for maintaining sanitation and
drainage within Kathmandu whereas SWMTSC works as monitoring and regulatory mechanism for the
MSWM. This clearly indicate that Nepal government has good institutional arrangement for the MSWM
but they do not have clear enforcement regulation related to SMW promotion. Similarly, Department
of Urban Development and Building Construction (DoUDBC) provides technical support on
infrastructure development and Department of Environment provide standard for pollution control,
EIA and environmental monitoring. Municipalities are the most important stakeholder for
implementing the MSWM activities in Nepal. The flow chart (figure 18) shows the larger picture of
various stakeholder involvement and their responsibilities for the SWM in Nepal.

Figure 18: Institutional arrangement for the MSWM in Nepal

Note: Reproduced from the reference of Disaster Waste Management: Policy, Strategy and Action
Plan, Government of Nepal, UNEP and LEAD Nepal.
Many municipalities in Nepal have a separate section or unit for SWM purpose within their
organizational structure. Most waste management units are either part of the Social Development
Section, Planning and Urban Development Section, or Community Welfare Section of the municipalities
(ADB 2013). The figure 19 represents the KMC’s institutional structure for overall functions including
MSWM in KMC. MSWM is included in environment protection programme, hence, environment
management department is responsible for the MSWM activities. Further this department is divided
into 4 division according to different functions. MSW division is accountable for taking care of MSWM
in KMC. This division is particularly focused on overall activities under different element of MSWM and
further divided into MSWM section, Landfill site Management section and Activities Mobilization
Section.

23
 Figure 19: Institutional arrangement of KMC for MSWM

Source: KMC, 2019

2.5 Resource allocation for waste management

2.5.1 Financial and technical resources

Financial and technical resources are always key elements when planning for implementing efficient
and robust MSWM system. The distribution of financial and technical resources varies among the
municipalities in Nepal. The table 2 shows the budget allocation for municipality and MSWM activities
in different fiscal year. About 24% of the total municipality budget in average is allocated for the MSWM
as environmental protection. According to ADB, the major portion that is 60-70% of allocated budget
for SWM in KMC is used for waste collection and street sweeping where 20-30% budget is used for
transportation and remaining amount is disbursed for disposal of waste (ADB, 2013). It is observed that
major chunk of money is utilized only for collection system. Another significant reflection from this is
the allocated budget has been underutilized and surprisingly large amount of this budget is used for
the salaries and facilities for the staff-involving in street cleaning and maintenance and fuel cost which
is justified by the table in appendix 2 (OAG, 2015). Also, this has been observed from the data (appendix
3) that municipality is mainly focusing on waste collection and its transportation in landfill whereas,
landfill and transfer station management is being least highlighted in case of disbursing budget.

24
Table 2: Total allocated municipal budget and SWM budget in KMC from fiscal year 2010/11 to
2013/14

Fiscal Total municipal Budget allocated Budget allocated for % of allocated

Year budget (NRs Million) for MSWM (NRs MSWM (Million USD) budget for
Million) MSWM
2010/11 1212.85 278.61 22.97
2.53
2011/12 947.41 253.13 2.30 26.72
2012/13 1900.00 443.10 4.02 23.32
2013/14 2630.89 621.70 5.64 23.63
Average 24.16
Note: 1 USD is equivalent to 110.17 (7/26/2019), Nepal Rasta Bank, Foreign Exchange rate
Source: OAG, 2015 and ADB, 2013
The technical infrastructure is very important when it comes for proper MSWM. In case of KMC, the
budget and management facilities for all the elements of MSWM significantly limited. Most of the
municipal vehicles and machineries equipment used for collection and transportation of MSW are
sponsored by foreign organization which are not well functioning at the moment due to unavailability
of spare parts of vehicles and lack of technicians who can fix them in Nepal8. Likewise, lack of waste
sorting sites, limited transfer station and landfill are the major technical factors for the poor MSWM in
KMC. Furthermore, SWM act 2011 stated that municipality would provide separate container to the
community to put organic and inorganic waste separately, however, this has not been in practiced in
reality (OAG, 2015). Besides this, the insufficient and unmotivated municipal workforces in MSWM
activities are also the major challenges for the sustainable MSWM in KMC (OAG, 2015).

The table 3 shows the number of personnel responsible for different activities regarding MSWM in
KMC. The number of staff has been declined to 963 in 2018 which includes a large number of sweepers.
The decline was due to the retirement of the old staffs and no new staff are hired to replace the vacant
positions which added additional burden to rest of the staffs and led to inefficiency in MSWM activities9.

8
Information based on interview with officials from department of environment, KMC.
9
Based information provided by environment department of KMC.

25
 Table 3: Number of human resource engaged in MSWM in KMC in 2014

Post Number
Department chief 1
Division Chief 2
Engineer 5
Section Officer 3
Administrative Personnel 36
Junior Engineer 3
Municipal Police 19
Driver 135
Sweeper 828
Other 79
Total 1111

Source: OAG, 2015

2.6 MSWM planning in KMC

In 2005 from the support of JICA, KMC had prepared an Action Plan on Solid Waste Management (KMC
2005). However due to inefficient operational activity led to current disorganized waste management
system. The action plan need further updates which should include concrete plan, vision, mission and
aim for the KMC’s effective MSWM. Similarly, recently elected local government representative has to
give equal priority to environmental issue such as MSWM as other developmental issues of the
municipality.

2.7 Actors involvement in MSWM system in KMC

Different stakeholders such as government body, private sectors, INGOs, NGOs, CBOs and public
participate in MSWM activities in KMC. The 32 wards of KMC has a semi-formal MSWM practice that is
involvement of private sector in collaboration with KMC. Most of the private organization are informal
and are not legally registered to government agency10. However, there is also involvement of formal
private organization who has an agreement with KMC and NGOs contributed in waste management
activities and there is also willingness of community for the waste separation at source (ADB, 2013). In
addition, some NGOs and civil society group are undertaking public awareness campaign such as
Bagmati river cleanup campaign where public participate to clean river. Likewise, in recent year, some
private recycling companies collect waste (paper, plastic, glass bottle, metal and electronic waste) from

10
Based on interview with Deputy Director of Environment Management Department, KMC. She also added that
government is planning to track all the record of informal organizations and individual who are involving in waste
management in KMC. Most of these PSOs has their own monopolized practice on collection and transfer of waste
from some wards of KMC. They sort out reusable and recyclable waste and they dump non-recyclable waste in
landfill site. However, landfill site is operated and managed by KMC.

26
door to door and with free of charge, even allowing public to sell their recyclable waste. Though they
are limited to particular area, has contributed in MSWM in KMC.

2.8 Overview on solid waste management policy, law and legislation

According to Hwa 2007, the low level of awareness, lack of technical knowledge, strong policies and
legislations, proper plans and strategies for SWM are the major challenges in low income countries in
Asia. Likewise, Nepal also did not have the proper policies regarding SWM before 1980s since the solid
waste problem was not severe as today in the country. The waste generated in Kathmandu was very
low in volume because of less population and fewer industrial activities. These MSW were managed in
collaboration with community’s people and the municipalities where municipal labour workers called
Kuchikar11 were assigned to collect and dispose waste (Pokhrel and Viraraghavan, 2005) however, there
was no proper disposal site for these collected waste.

Considering all environment concerns and community hygiene, Nepal government established the
‘Solid Waste (Management and Resource Mobilization) Act and Regulations’ 1987. This act formed Solid
Waste Management and Resource Mobilization Center (SWMRMC) and which is responsible for
implementing policy and operate the SWM activities such as collection, transportation, storage,
resource recovery and disposal in Kathmandu (Lawcommision.gov.np, n.d. and SWMRMC, 1992). The
following figure 13 illustrates the key policies formulated for the SWM in Nepal in different time period.

•Solid Waste (Management and Resource Mobilization) Act and Regulations

1987

•Solid Waste Management National Policy

1996

•Environment Protection Act

1997

•Local Self Governance Act

1999

•Solid Waste Management Act

2011

•Solid Waste Management Rule

2013

•Local Government Operation Act

2017

Figure 20: SWM policy and legislation in Nepal in chronological order

Note: Reproduced on the basis of reference from G C, 2018, OAG, 2015 and SJVN Arun-3 Power
Development Company Pvt. Ltd., 2019

11
Kuchikar are the cleaners or sweepers in Nepali local language and they are generally assigned by municipality
to collect and dispose solid waste in Kathmandu in earlier days.

27
Similarly, later in 90s, Nepal government enforced national policy on ‘Solid Waste Management
National Policy’ 1996, to deal with the solid waste problem in the country. The main focus of this policy
was effective and proper SWM which could help to minimize the environment pollution and impact on
human health. Likewise policy aimed to minimize the waste generation, recycle and reuse of waste as
resources, increase awareness and public participation and private company involvement for SWM
activities for effective management and operation. This policy has 4 main strategies for the proper
SWM, which are public participation, source mobilization, technology intervention and privatization
(SWM National Policy, 1996).

In 1997, Nepal government had endorsed the ‘Environment Protection Act’ (EPA), 1997 which
emphasized different provision for the SWM. Such as, any institution or individual are not allowed to
contaminate the environment that could results the serious impact on people’s health and
environmental quality.

In 1999, ‘Local Self-government Act’, 1999 was formulated which highlighted decentralization of
responsibility to village development committee and municipalities for operational activities of MSWM
within their authority. Municipality and VDC should protect their local environment by encouraging
public toward sanitation as well as should organize solid waste collection system, transportation and
proper disposal within their surroundings (MoFALD, 1999 and Pathak, 2017).

SWM act, 2011 is detailed which offers the full authority to local government body12 to take
responsibility regarding the implementation of MSWM activities in a proper manner. This act was
enforced from 15th June 2011. This act possesses the following provisions (Lawcommision.gov.np, n.d):

 The act also provides authority to local body for the implementation of the different cycles of
MSWM such as waste segregation at source, enforce waste management fees, composting and
recycling activities and also the proper disposal of waste in the landfill site.
 The hazardous and harmful waste generated from various industries and hospitals should be
properly managed by hospital and industries themselves.
 Any private institution or individuals should have license from local government to involve in
MSWM activities. Interested private organization shall get license from local government body
based on the competition.
 The act encourages the collaboration of local body with private institutions for MSWM and
tariff from public for the collection, transport, recovery and disposal of waste.

12
The local bodies are the municipalities, sub municipalities and village development committee (VDCs).

28
SWM rules 2013 was issued by Nepal government by exercising the power discussed by section 50 of
SWM act 2011 which also focuses on waste segregation at source13.
The Local Government Operation Act, 2017 that has established a robust legal foundation towards
institutionalizing legislative, executive and quasi-judiciary practice of the newly-elected local
government14. Local Government has the core operational responsibilities for the SWM within their
jurisdiction.

2.9 Conclusion
It is observed that the urbanization and increasing population has accelerated the MSW volume in
which the organic waste is dominating in total MSW composition. This organic waste is landfilled in
Sisdol which is critically out of its carrying capacity. Further, it can be analyzed that KMC has poorly
managed MSW which is creating environmental and public consequences. Hence, there is an urgent
need to manage this MSW problem. For this, following key approaches need to be highlighted for
improving SWM in KMC.
i. While the enactment of the new SWM Act in 2011 was a major step toward improving SWM
practices in Nepal, it has not been effectively translated into actions and results on the ground.
A national SWM policy and strategy that specifies key policy objectives, guiding principles, and an
implementation strategy with a timeline and a clear monitoring and evaluation mechanism needs
to be developed to provide clear strategic direction to local bodies.
ii. For the effective MSWM, the waste management hierarchy (WMH) can be effective tool. It
includes 5 different components which are prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal
(Ec.europa.eu, 2019). The WMH will be helpful to prioritize waste prevention and management.
The following figure 21 demonstrate the waste management hierarchy for effective MSWM.

Figure 21: WMH based on the EU directive 2008/98/EC and European commission 2016
iii. Promotion of new concept like Waste to Energy approach should be initiated for energy
recovery from waste. In recent years, WtE has been considered as a solution to solve the
increasing MSW in many emerging cities and fast growing energy demands (GIZ, 2017).

13
http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/archives/11691
14
SJVN Arun-3 Power Development Company Pvt. Ltd. (2019). Retrieved from
http://nep.sapdc.com.np/page/local-government-operation-act-2074

29
Chapter 3
This chapter covers the background information on WtE and description of different WtE technologies
with its application. Further, it explains the importance of WtE approach as an opportunity for
generating energy from MSW in KMC. This chapter also include the calculation of energy that can be
generated from different MSW and its analysis. This chapter ends with the description of new proposed
MSWM model for KMC.

3.1 Energy recovery

Energy recovery is one of the important components of WMH which is performed by either combustion
or anaerobic digestion of MSW and is a most preferred option in term of environment protection. The
combustion or digestion of MSW not only support to reduce waste but also recover energy. The
generated energy from this process are renewable and it contributes to replace fossil fuel which
ultimately reduce GHGs and also minimize the methane generation in landfill site (epa.gov, n.d.).

The heavily increasing MSW in many fast growing cities of low income nations such as Kathmandu has
been a part of concerned issue in term of possible impacts toward environment and public health (GIZ,
2017). In this scenario, MSW can be used to recover energy through appropriate WtE technology and
by reducing its volume and generating energy. Similarly, it reduces GHGs emission from open dumping
and landfill contributing to solve the issue of limited landfill area (GIZ, 2017).

3.2 Waste to energy (WtE) Concept

Pereira and Lee, 2015 stated that there is more challenges than opportunity to manage MSW and get
materials from it as recycling products, biogas, heat or energy. MSW composition differs from country
to country since its production depend on economic development, climatic condition and cultural and
traditional value. The composition of MSW of developing countries is mostly organic while in developed
countries the MSW consist high volume of inorganic waste (Trang and Wilson, 2017). The MSW is
increasing day by day as the population is increasing, there is an urgent requirement to develop the
strategies to manage and treat these growing volume of MSW in the world.

WtE approach and its technologies are favorable for low income countries for converting MSW into
useable form of energy (Moya et al., 2017) to deal with the environmental problem and energy crisis.
Waste to energy technologies are used as a major tool in the integrated SWM to mitigate the impact
of global warming and climate change in most of the developed nations.

WtE is the technological approach that contribute to recover energy into heat, electricity or other
substitute fuels such as biogas (GIZ, 2017) from MSW. The scope of the concept WtE is a broad term

30
which includes a wide range of technologies at various scales and intricacies. This technology comprises
thermal treatment of waste in incineration plant, co-processing of refuse derived fuel in cement plant
or gasification (GIZ, 2017), pyrolysis, collection of methane gas from landfill sites and cooking gas
production in household digesters from organic waste (Gumisiriza et al., 2017). These technologies
possess different functions and characteristics and can be applied to various categories of waste that
include semi-solid (such as thickened sludge from effluent treatment plants) to liquid (such as domestic
sewage ) and gaseous (such as refinery gases) waste (GIZ, 2017). However, Eurostat 2013, stated that,
at least within the European Union, treating MSW is the most common practice15.

3.3 Waste to energy technology options

WtE technology was started as the incineration technology which was built in Denmark in 1903 for the
first time in history (Dbdh.dk, 2019). MSW can be transformed into energy from various WtE conversion
processes and most commonly used techniques are thermal treatment technology (thermochemical
conversion) and biological treatment technology (biochemical conversion) for converting MSW into
energy (Shrestha et al., 2017 and Zafar, 2019). According to Zafar, 2019, thermochemical conversion is
applicable for the low moisture content waste whereas biochemical conversion is best option for high
moisture content waste such as organic waste. The following flow chart (figure 5) show the various
waste converting technologies.

Figure 22: Waste to Energy technologies

Source: Zafar, 2019

15
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/portal/page/portal/waste/introduction/

31
3.3.1 Thermochemical conversion

The thermochemical conversion can be classified into incineration (combustion in excess air),
gasification and pyrolysis. Incineration is the process of combustion of municipal waste in the raw form
to generate energy in the form of electricity or heat. The process of combustion takes oxygen to fully
oxidize the waste and converted it into carbon dioxide and water producing 850 degree Celsius
combustion temperature (DEFRA, 2019). Energy recovery through incineration process is a well-known
technique and high quality treatment of municipal waste in big cities which helps to reduce the quantity
of the waste to be landfilled. This technology seems feasible for urban setting which is a practical
solution to manage huge volume of municipal waste as well as recover energy from it. However, this
technology requires high investment since environmental measures should be considered to control
emission. Therefore, before implementing incineration technology, waste volume, combustion heat of
the waste, location, maintained facilities, operation and maintenance cost and investment has to be
deliberated. Furthermore, these environmental consideration and huge investment cost is not
preferred alternative in most of the developing countries to implement incineration technology for
waste management.

Figure 23: Incineration flow chart which shows the thermal treatment technology

Source: "Problems & Solutions | Environmental Protection Department", 2019

Pyrolysis and gasification technique are used as the alternative to incineration which are thermal
treatment process. These process reduce volume of the waste by converting solid waste into gas or oil
followed by the combustion. These process are regulated in USA and European Union countries as
waste incinerators and these process consist of thermal treatment of solid waste and combustion of

32
resulted gases from process both in site or distributed fuel (Tangri and Wilson, 2017). Particularly,
gasification process include decomposition of solid waste requiring high heat which is above 600 degree
Celsius in a starved oxygen level (Moustakas and Loizidou, 2010). Likewise, pyrolysis is similar to
gasification which also convert waste into oils and gas as well as solid waste outputs in the presence of
heat without oxygen supply. These technologies has been testing over 30 years by various companies
(Tangri and Wilson, 2017).

Figure 24: Pyrolysis process flow diagram for municipal solid waste treatment in urban environment

Source: Campos et al., 2015

Figure 25: Schematic of MSW gasification and power generation plant

Source: Zafar, 2009

33
3.3.2 Biochemical treatment

Likewise, biochemical treatment process are done by fermentation (in aerobic condition for
composting) and anaerobic digestion (AD) process. AD is a natural biological process of converting
organic waste into combustible gas which is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide without presence
of oxygen (Moya, et al, 2017) is also described as WtE approach but is apposite of thermal process. And
this treatment process needs limited amount of energy in comparison to aerobic process. AD can be an
efficient technology for treating organic waste (Zafar, 2019) since biodegradable municipal waste has
huge potential of energy production. Hence, this treatment technology is designed and engineered for
the organic MSW to be treated by natural biological process (DEFRA, 2019). AD technology is practical
option for managing organic waste in most of developing countries that produce larger volume of
organic waste.

Figure 26: Anaerobic digestion of organic municipal waste

Source: Spuhler, 2010

3.4 Waste to energy: an opportunity for KMC for the MSWM

Nepal is suffering from energy deficit currently. Nepal does not have gas, oil and coal deposits for
generating energy. Most of the petroleum product and coals are imported from India where 75% of
petroleum products are diesel, kerosene and gasoline (ADB, 2017 and IBN, 2017). Petroleum products
share about 12% of the total energy consumption where electricity contributes 2% of nation’s energy
demand (IBN, 2017).

Furthermore, the fast urbanization and scaling up of economic activities in KMC emerge many issues
such as energy crisis and MSWM are most critical to solve as soon as possible (Shrestha et al., 2017).
Therefore, the WtE approach can contribute to handle the MSW situation of KMC. The inter-linkage
between MSW and energy is clearly visible for the case of KMC, the concept of WtE is still new and

34
unexplored which is considered as unimportant in case of generating energy from it in comparison to
hydropower (NPC and IBN, 2014), but has great prospect to tackle both issues.

The approaches and its key advantages of WtE are still not sufficiently noticed for the immediate
respond to act mostly in developing countries like Nepal. MSW can be the important resource for
generating energy by using WtE technologies even, 3R and preventing waste from generation are most
preferred options in waste hierarchy in MSWM system (Shrestha et al., 2014). However, as stated by
Idris et al., 2004, it is crucial to assess waste characteristic and its volume before selecting suitable WtE
technology both thermal and biological, also it is equally important to analyze energy content of the
each waste composition. In addition, as MSW consist of heterogeneous waste materials, investigating
energy potential of each waste material is not a simple task to explore.

3.5 Energy content of MSW in KMC

The heat content of each MSW of KMC is calculated theoretically by using given formula on the basis
of MSW data released by ADB in 2013. The calculated total heat content of each type of MSW of KMC
is presented in table 4 below.

Total Heat Content (E) = Σ f *HV

i i

Note:
E= theoretical heat content (million Btu/ton)
fi= Fraction of waste component i in total MSW composition
HVi = Heat value of waste component i (million btu/ton)
Source: Zaman, 2010
Table 4: Fractional content of MSW composition of KMC and heat value of solid waste composition on
dry condition in million Btu/ton and MWh unit (Shrestha et al., 2014)

S.N. Type of % of MSW Fraction content Heat Value Heat content in MSW Energy content
MSW composition of MSW (million Btu/ton) (Million Btu/ton) in MSW (MWh)
1 Organic 43.32 0.43 7.6 3.292320 0.960
2 Plastic 21.6 0.22 22.6 4.881600 1.430
3 Paper 25.41 0.25 6.7 1.702470 0.500
4 Glass 2.66 0.03 0.1 0.002660 0.001
5 Metals 1.86 0.02 0.7 0.013020 0.004
6 Textiles 2.77 0.03 13.8 0.382260 0.112
7 Rubber and 0.75 0.01 20.65 0.154875 0.045
Leather
Total value 10.43 3.052
-7
Note: 1 million Btu/ton=2.9307*10 MWh

Source for average heat value of different MSW: Shrestha et al., 2014

35
From the calculation, it is observed that every ton of MSW of KMC has potential to generate 10.43
million Btu of heat that is 3.052 MWh/day of energy can be produced theoretically. Likewise, if organic
waste is used to generate energy where other components of MSW can be recycled and reused, nearly
3.3 million Btu of heat that is 0.96 MWh/day of electricity can be generated.

Furthermore, the most essential factor- moisture content of solid waste is very significant to
understand the total energy content in the MSW for selecting and implementing appropriate WtE
technology (Shrestha et al., 2014 and Sodari & Nakarmi, 2018). The research carried out by Sodari and
Nakarmi found that 70% moisture content in organic waste of MSW of KMC where 20% in paper and
5% moisture content in plastic. It is perceived that KMC’s MSW composition is dominated by organic,
paper and plastic which has high moisture content, however, these waste also has high energy content
which is shown in the table. This indicates that the MSW of KMC has comparatively good potential to
produce energy by using WtE technology particularly AD for organic waste and incineration for plastic
and paper waste.

3.5.1 Electricity generation potential from plastic and paper waste in KMC from incineration

Plastic and paper combined is the second dominant source of MSW in KMC which shares one fourth of
total waste. Currently, recyclable plastic and paper waste are exported to India for further processing
and remaining from these waste are considered as non-recyclable are landfilled in bulk. Knowing this
facts, incineration technology can be adopted to incinerate plastic and paper waste to produce
electricity since plastic waste has high heat content.

Therefore, the data from ADB 2013 report is used to calculate energy potential of plastic and paper
from incineration technology. The current plastic waste has potential of 1430 kWh of electricity
generation capacity while paper waste has 490 kWh theoretically which is shown in table 5. Since the
electricity amount is not high but it can contribute during energy deficit period. However, Solid Waste
Management Act 2011 of Nepal emphasized on 3 R waste management rather than energy recovery
from waste through incineration. Nevertheless, WtE technology as incineration is good option for
managing increasing trend of plastic and paper waste in future although current production is not huge
as organic waste in KMC. However, burning of plastic waste can produce harmful gases such as dioxin
and furans (Verma et al., 2016). Hence the incineration should have pollution control measures to
reduce air pollution.

36
Table 5: Fractional content, heat value, electricity generation of plastic and paper waste in million
Btu/ton and MWh.

Fraction Heat Value Heat content in Energy content Energy

Type of % of MSW
content (million MSW (Million in MSW content in
MSW composition
of MSW Btu/ton) Btu/ton) (MWh)/day MSW (kWh)
Plastic 21.6 0.22 22.6 4.8816 1.43 1430
Paper 25.41 0.25 6.7 1.70247 0.49 490

3.6 Potentiality of bio-gas generation from organic waste in KMC

It is found that organic fraction of municipal waste is relatively higher than other inorganic waste in
KMC where households is the major source and produce 64.24% of organic waste. Analysing this
situation, the organic fraction of MSW of KMC can be a great resource for generating renewable energy.
Thus, AD as WtE technology is suitable option for converting this organic MSW into biogas (methane)
and this can also generate electricity which subsequently reduce the volume of MSW to be landfilled.

AD process is also called as biomethanisation which is the biochemical decomposing of the complex
organic material by different microorganisms in the absence of air (Vogeli et al., 2014) to produce
biogas. Biogas is an inflammable gas, stable and non-toxic with relatively odorless and colorless
character which has heat value of 4500-5000 kcal/m3 when it has methane contain range from 60-70%
(Igoni et al., 2008). There are several important parameters which are necessary for the good yield of
biogas from organic waste. These parameters are temperature, pH value, feedstock characteristics,
carbon to nitrogen ratio (C: N), hydraulic retention time, design of digester and operation situation.
Two different temperature is considered as best for the performance of anaerobic bacteria where 30-
40 degree Celsius is good for mesophilic bacteria with average is 27 degree Celsius and another is 45-
60 degree Celsius for thermophilic bacteria with optimum is 55 degree Celsius (Vogeli et al., 2014).
Likewise, ideal range of pH is 6.5-7.5 for the high amount of biogas production (Khalid et al., 2011).
Another important parameter for AD process is C: N ratio which influence the biogas production (which
will be lower) if its concentration is high in solid waste where best value range is from 16-25 (Vogeli et
al., 2014). Likewise hydraulic retention time is the duration of material stays in reactor is another
parameter which affects biogas yield and the time ranges from 10 to 40 days (Vogeli et al., 2014). The
lesser retention time is rather for higher temperature in the thermophillic range because the process
is faster. It also depends on reactor volume that is large volume of reactor needs more retention time
to digest organic material and it produces large amount of biogas (Vogeli et al., 2014).

Implementation of AD technology for managing organic waste of KMC requires to considering all these
different aspects mentioned as a part of technical factors.

37
According to Alterative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC, 2014), biogas yield from organic MSW of KMC
can be calculated from the following formula.

(
Biogas yield m3/kg of VS ) = Biogas yield (m /kg of VS)*TS (%)*VS (%)
3

Where, M3= Cubic metre

TS= Total organic waste
VS= Volatile solid
AEPC 2014 stated that biogas production of 0.35 m3/kg of VS which comprise of 75% of methane gas
and is used for the electricity generation. Further, AEPC suggests in “biogas calculation tool user´s
guide” that municipal organic waste contain 20% of total solid (TS) and 80% of volatile solid (VS). That
means, it assumes that municipal organic has 80% moisture content in average in Nepal. The biogas
and methane gas yield is calculated and presented in table from this data and formula mentioned
above.
Table 6: Estimation of biogas and methane production from organic waste of KMC

Amount of % of Biogas Biogas Total biogas Methane Methane

% Total gas
organic waste Volatile yield yield yield from gas
solid potential
collected for Solid (m3/kg (m3/kg of organic waste potential
(TS) (m3/day)
AD (ton/day) (VS) of VS) waste) (m3/year) (m3/year)
202 20 80 0.35 0.056 4,128,880 3,096,660 8,484
Source: ADB, 2013 and AEPC, 2014

The table 6 shows that organic waste of KMC has a potential of generating approximate 4x106 m3 of
biogas which contain approximately 3x106 m3 of methane (CH4) per year. That is approximate 11x103,
m3 of biogas and 8x103 m3 of methane gas can be generated every day from the organic waste of KMC.
Likewise, the produced methane can be used to power the electricity generator. This noticeably
indicates that organic waste can play vital role in energy demand, reduce landfill waste and produce
nutrient rich organic fertilizer as digested material which can improve the quality of soil for the good
crop production (US, EPA, 2018).

3.6.1 Biogas to electricity

There are various type of technologies employed for biogas power generation such as fuel cell, Stirling
engines, diesel engine, gas motors with spark ignition, gas turbine, combine heat and power system
(CHP). Biogas can be directly converted into electricity by using fuel cell theoretically. But for this, extra
clean gas and high priced fuel cells are needed. Therefore, using of gas motor turbine with spark ignition
in a diesel engine system can be used for the conversion of biogas to electric power since biogas has
high knock resistance and can be used in motor combustion with high compression rates (Energypedia,
2019). Thus, this can be implemented for biogas power generation from MSW of KMC. In addition,

38
biogas should ensure its quality before using for different application. Since biogas also contains not
only methane (CH4) but also components as impurities such as droplets, air, hydrogen sulphide (H2S),
and carbon dioxide (CO2) (Kipyegon, 2006). Hence, these components should be removed for its further
utilization. The removal of these various gases can be taken place in a stepwise process (Vogeli et al.,
2014).

The following schematic diagram figure 27 shows the AD process to generate biogas and electricity.

Figure 27: Anaerobic digestion process and electricity generation from biogas

Source: Beemaraj &Prasath, 2013

Calculation of electricity generation from biogas

The average calorific value of biogas is 21-23.5 MJ/m3 which has an electricity generation potential
6kWh/m3 when using gas motor as combustion engine (Agency of Renewable Resources, 2005,
AQPER, 2019). Biogas contain 75% of methane gas produce from organic MSW (AEPC, 2014).

Formula for calculating electricity from Methane gas

Electricity generation (MW/day) = (methane yield/day*energy generation/m3)/ (75*1000*24)

Source: (Adhikari, Khanal & Miyan, 2015)

Table 7: Estimation of electricity generation from methane from the biodegradation of organic waste
of KMC.

Estimated methane Energy generation % of average Electricity

(m3/day) per m3 (kwh) methane in biogas generation(MWh)/day
8,484 6 75 2.83

39
The electricity generation from AD process is illustrated in table 7. About 2.8 MWh/day of electricity
can be generated from the methane gas produce from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste of each
day of KMC. Hence AD can be the promising technology for managing organic waste of KMC and help
for recovering energy crisis and help to reduce dependency on import of external fuel for cooking.

In addition, the dumping of huge amount of organic waste in landfill can be reduced significantly and
minimize the release of several gases such as methane, carbon dioxide in the environment which
ultimately contribute to global warming lead to climate change and discharge of leachate causing water
contamination from the landfill waste.

3.7 WtE technology integration in MSWM framework for KMC

The following framework presented in figure 28 developed by the researcher after the in-depth analysis
of current MSWM which is proposed for the sustainable MSWM system in KMC. This framework is
prepared with considering various factors with particular focus on KMC. This framework consists of
different elements of MSWM which is more systematic and more sustainable way of managing MSW
with considering environment and public health which follows the waste hierarchy concept and
sustainable integrated MSWM. In addition, WtE approach is particularly focused as it is the efficient
way to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfill and it generates useful energy. Hence, WtE approach
can address the energy demand issue and contribute in sustainable MSWM as well.

Figure 28: The proposed MSWM framework for Kathmandu Metropolitan City

40
3.10 Conclusion
The presented issue of current unsystematic MSWM of KMC cannot be overlooked. For this, the
proposed MSWM framework for KMC can be the solution to address the MSWM problem. The
proposed framework is systematic, efficient and more sustainable MSWM than the current system in
term of its long term benefits and is more environment friendly system. This framework is focused on
energy recovery using WtE technology as one the efficient way for managing waste and generating
energy. However, different aspects such as proper policy, public awareness and organizational
arrangement, financial and technical factor are inevitable to be considered for transforming current
MSWM system to more sustainable MSWM for KMC. Following are the factors which can influence the
establishment and integration of WtE technology in MSWM for KMC:
 It is observed that KMC’s MSWM system lacks organized policies and legal framework. Hence,
an appropriate legal framework need to be established and its execution has to be in process
of development before implementation and operation of any WtE plant in MSWM system.
 Public awareness is major requirement because, the proposed framework demands the waste
segregation at source as an important element.
 The most important aspect, an institutional arrangement should be adequately effective and
strong for implementing sustainable MSW.
 For the decision making, cost benefit analysis and assessment on understanding of WtE
technology operation is very important since this technology are relatively expensive.
 Likewise, technical human resource is also required for establishing WtE system.

41
Chapter 4
This chapter covers the comparative analysis of existing MSWM system and newly designed MSWM
framework in chapter 3. Hence, this chapter presents analysis of the different aspects need to be
changed for implementing the proposed framework for the systematic MSWM in KMC.

4.1 Requirements for integrating WtE system in MSWM of KMC

Some basic conditions has to be met before implementing appropriate WtE technology in MSWM
system in KMC. Likewise, various aspects need to be adjusted and changed for the implementation of
proposed framework which are discussed below.

4.1.1 Management aspect

The following figure 29 shows the differences between the current MSWM system which is traditional
waste management hierarchy and the proposed framework for sustainable MSWM as new waste
management paradigm. The proposed framework is more focused on waste reduction and energy
recovery. GIZ states that WtE technology should be viewed as a part of sustainable MSWM system
where waste prevention, reduction and recycling options has high preference (GIZ, 2017).

Figure 29: Comparison between current MSWM and proposed framework for sustainable MSWM
based on waste management hierarchy in KMC

Note: Reproduced WMH for KMC based on reference from (Fagariba & Song, 2016).

The existing state of MSWM is ineffective and unsystematic because of lack of technical and financial
capabilities of KMC and many factors related to MSWM. Therefore, various aspects regarding MSWM
are very essential to be reflected for proposing to implement sustainable MSWM framework.

42
Improvements toward sustainable SWM

Current ineffective practices need to be stopped first. For example, collecting waste in open piles on
the roadside, which is done by KMC, is not only inefficient but highly unhygienic, creating a public
nuisance and health risks. The present scenario of MSWM involve waste generation-collection-disposal
in very irregular manner. It does not have any strategic directive for systematic operation of day to day
activities of MSWM. In addition, waste are collected in bulk without any segregation since municipality
has not announced any system or methods for segregation of waste at source which could have
motivate citizen to participate in sustainable MSWM (OAG, 2015). In the present scenario, KMC is
accountable for every activities regarding MSWM from waste collection to final disposal without
guiding concrete framework. As a result, KMC is facing challenge of chaotic MSWM system. The Office
of Auditor General analysed in the study suggested that KMC does not have sufficient human, technical
and financial resources and unable to coordinate with different sectors for performing successful
MSWM system (OAG 2015). Therefore, for improving this situation, technical and financial aspect are
another essential elements that should be carefully assessed.

4.1.2 Approach for implementing proposed framework of MSWM system in KMC

The present MSWM system basically focused on MSW collection and disposal. The existing policy
regarding the SWM system lacks the proper and specific guidelines required for the sustainable MSWM.
Likewise the policies are rarely implemented which resulted the current mismanagement of MSW in
KMC. Therefore, the changes and amendment in current policy and its implementation are required for
sustainable MSWM in KMC which are further discussed below.
i. MSW generation
Sustainable MSWM always associated with 3R approaches (reduce, recycle and reuse) in waste
management which is also emphasized in SWM act in Nepal. However, it is not in practice at present.
Hence, this proposed framework recommend less waste generation at source which means it
contributes in waste minimization at source. The generated waste disposal in roadside, riverside and
open space should be stopped and different waste bin should be provided to each neighborhood for
discarding different waste and collection of this waste should be carried out regularly.
ii. Segregation of organic, plastic and paper waste at source
Segregation is one of the key elements of MSWM in term of waste recovery and processing that is to
give second life to waste in a circular manner. Hence, this framework suggests the segregation of waste
into organic, plastic, paper and other waste at source. Therefore, the policy should incorporate this
issue through public awareness program and school level curriculum. In addition, KMC should provide
incentives to encourage public to involve in sustainable MSWM such as by providing different bins for
different waste.

43
 iii. Collection of different segregated waste
The collection is another important element which involves not only the collection of waste (organic,
plastic and paper) from different sources but also the transportation of these waste to the specific
transfer station. For effective collection, the collection of different waste should be done on different
day. For example, biodegradable, non-biodegradable (plastic and paper) waste and other waste can be
collected in different day that ensure the efficiency and importance of segregation. The policy should
address this issue and properly indicate that there should be provision of penalty for those who does
not follow the rule.
iv. Transfer station and transport
The allocation of proper transfer station for storing of waste collected from KMC is essential because
the waste need to be sort out further before transferring to processing plant and landfill site. The
transfer station either located near to processing plant area or particular planned area. After sorting of
all waste transfer to processing plant to convert waste into energy and remaining refuse waste to
sanitary landfill.
v. Energy/resource recovery and processing
The existing policy mentioned modern technology for managing and recovering waste to be
implemented, however, it does not provide specific directive for its implementation. Hence, the policy
needs to be adjusted and it should incorporate the innovative technology like WtE.
The larger share of organic waste generated in KMC can be managed by converting waste into biogas
through WtE technology (anaerobic digestion process). Likewise, plastic is the second highest amount
in MSW composition of KMC and has high energy content. Hence, plastic waste can be managed by
incineration which also produce energy. About 90% MSW can be recovered from WtE system in KMC.
43% of organic waste can generate 3x106 m3/year of methane gas and 1033 MWh/year of electricity
theoretically. Likewise, incineration of about 22% plastic and 25% paper waste can produce 700
MWh/year electricity in KMC. This can play important role as alternative energy source in meeting
energy demand.
vi. Final disposal
The least prefer option in waste management hierarchy is landfilling of waste. In case of MSW of KMC
after implementation of proposed MSWM framework, only about 10% of remaining waste consisting
glass, metal, rubber and leather that can be further segregated for recycling excluding nearly about 2%
inert waste (non-recyclable, non-reusable and non-recoverable) and residues coming from bio
digestion process and incineration process can be landfilled. If 90% of waste recovered through the
proper implementation of WtE technology as discussed above, about 419 tons of waste can be reduced
and about 47 tons waste has to be landfilled as final disposal. The study carried out by ADB in 2013 also

44
reveals that only about 10% of MSW of KMC has to landfill if waste resource recovery method is
maximized.
Regarding the site for the waste disposal in future, Nepal government has already bought land in 2007
at Banchare Danda in Nuwakot district which is 28 km from the centre of KMC. This site has been
proposed for developing proper sanitary landfill site. This location can be the ideal site for establishing
WtE infrastructure and also transfer station since allocated area cover adequate land (402,922 sq.ft)
(KMC, 2018). Therefore, the most important element, the land for waste treatment, processing and
disposal is already confirmed. However, the project has not been commenced until now. Hence the
proper plan and strategic framework is needed with strict implementation and enforcement within
time frame.

4.1.3 Policies and legal framework

When establishing a proper MSWM system, a robust framework is needed which ensures the
achievement of the implementation. Hence, the appropriate legal framework ensures the specific
needs to be addressed and procedures to execute them. In case of KMC, this aspect stands as the most
key aspect to be addressed (Dangi, 2009) since, the existing policies are not ensuring all the issues
related to MSWM. It can be analyzed that though existing regulations and policy represent the
progressive steps for the sustainable MSWM system in Nepal. However, these policies have not been
translated into action (Dangi, 2009). Hence, for the implementation of the proposed framework for
MSWM through newly elected local government on the basis of Local Government Operation Act 2017
in KMC, the following points has to be addressed.

 The policy need to be amended with clear and strong directives for the improvement of current
MSWM.
 The clear and achievable targets, guiding strategies, and implementation plans with realistic
schedule are the major elements to be considered for the successful implementation of MSWM
system in KMC.
 Likewise, the KMC takes almost entire responsibility for the overall MSWM activities but unable
to track information. Therefore, it is important to establish a criteria of performance evaluation
and monitoring body to take action.
 The SMW Act 2011 encourage the involvement of private sector in MSWM after obtaining
proper license from government. However, there are various private sector organization
working informally in MSWM activities without license at present. Further, there is no proper
logical plan for overall MSWM activities. Hence, it is very difficult to track information on
MSWM activities.

45
  Furthermore, the MSWM system lacks clear vision, mission and goals that led KMC to carry out
MSWM activities in unplanned and ad-hoc basis which witnessed the chaotic MSWM since
many years (OAG, 2015).
 The well designed strategic plan and programme that can provide a systematic MSWM
framework directive.
 Likewise, regulatory instrument such as environmental law and policy should be considered
before planning of MSWM system since MSWM is multi aspect issue.
 Most importantly, legal framework should include the provision of commercializing the
generated alternative energy. For instance, right to sell energy in local level or connect to grid
that will encourage private sector to involve in WtE technology approach.

4.1.4 Financial aspects in term of establishing WtE plants in MSWM system

Implementing WtE plants require considerably high investments in comparison to sanitary landfill. The
investment cost includes not only treatment procedure but also include operation and maintenance
cost along with cost allocation for operational risks such as accident or fires. Thus, securing funding for
implementing sustainable MSWM is quite challenging for the municipality, thus it is suggested that PPP
approach can contribute in this regard where private company can invest for establishing and operating
WtE facilities in collaboration with government. National subsidies provision can contribute in initial
phase of implementation. In addition, fund can be managed by collecting waste management charge
from public and revenues from selling of recovered energy (biogas and electricity) and compost.
Further, access to revenue from international carbon fund such as green climate fund and tax refund
for promoting clean energy can be another source of fund for the regular operation of the facility.

4.1.5 Technical aspect

According to Solid Waste Management Act 2011 of Nepal, municipalities are accountable for all the
activities of MSWM from infrastructure development and its operation of every particular
infrastructure such as transfer station, processing and treatment plant, biogas plant, landfill, collection
from source, transport and to final disposal of MSW within their territory. However, due to lack of
technical capacity within KMC, access to appropriate technology and its understanding are the major
constraints which has restricted KMC to meet these responsibilities mentioned in MSW act. Likewise,
lack of research and survey on MSW are another technical issue in KMC that has limited development
of plans and strategies for the proper MSWM system. Hence, regular monitoring, survey and research
on waste generation, composition, volume, and overall MSWM activities should be carried out annually.

WtE technology has not been widely used in Nepal. However, small scale biogas in household level from
animal manure in rural area was initiated. This initiation was very effective in reducing firewood

46
consumption. The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) started the biogas support
programme (BSP) in 1992 for the promotion and development of biogas and it was funded by the
Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) (Mendis and Nes, 1999). Since
then, there are around 0.3 million biogas plants has been installed all over Nepal which has capacity of
2, 4, 6 and 8 cubic metre (AEPC, 2019). This biogas is used for cooking purpose and residue are used as
soil fertilizer. This technology is adopted from outside while the digesters are built in Nepal with local
materials.

However, in the case of implementing WtE system in large scale in KMC, the existing knowledge is not
sufficient. Hence, the technical knowledge can be adopted from outside, for instance European
countries and for infrastructure establishment, India can be the option since small scale industries are
importing required equipment for installing biogas from India.

4.1.6 Public participation and consultation

Municipality solely cannot perform and meet all the activities related to MSWM and its issues of
maintaining hygiene and sanitation of municipality. Community are the foremost in case of MSWM
since they are generating waste. Thus, their participation in MSWM is important. The new framework
encourage community participation as an important stakeholder for MSWM. The new working
procedure should focus on the current environmentally harmful practice and should not repeat again.
Such as waste accumulation in open public spaces. For this, private partner should promote source
separation at source and keep different waste in different waste bin in public places as well as at
household level and more emphasis should be given to 3R waste management practice. This awareness
should begin from very basic, for instance ‘no littering’ in public places. Likewise, there should be rules
for collecting different waste in different day, for example, collection of organic waste in one day and
inorganic waste in another day. And this rule should be strong with some penalty provision such as
household who do not follow rule would get fine or waste won’t be collected.

4.1.7 Public private partnership (PPP)

It has been realized that municipality office only cannot handle all the activities related to MSWM. The
efficient MSWM can be undertaken through the private public partnership approach. Traditionally, it is
understood that municipalities are distinctly accountable for overall MSWM in Nepal (World Bank,
2016). Hence, formal involvement of private sector is rarely seen and has not possessed impressive
results at the present situation in KMC. However, the PPP approach is evolving in many developing
countries for the efficient MSWM. Thus, the PPP approach has a great potential for improving the
overall operation and management in collection, transportation, processing and final disposal of MSW
with very cost-effective manner (ADB, 2013).

47
The suggested framework for MSWM requires PPP approach since the current context of MSWM
system is incapable of efficient operation of whole MSWM supply chain. However, the municipality
should be able to select qualified and experienced partners with complete strategic operation plan.
Hence, municipality should enhance its capacity to formulate strong policy under sustainable MSWM
based upon PPP approach. In addition, it is required to strengthen the municipality capacity in term of
conducting competitive bidding (ADB, 2013) and develop the robust system for monitoring and
evaluation of overall MSWM activities through private partner. The private partner is suggested to take
overall responsibility for managing entire supply chain of MSW under the government norm and
regulations.

4.1.8 Data management, updating, and dissemination

Data on municipal waste is very essential for developing strategy and plan to design efficient MSWM in
any municipality. However, there is no adequate data collection system and is seldom updated in KMC
in current situation. There is lack of study on MSWM due to lack of information and data on MSW
generation, its composition. As a result, it is difficult to develop plan for designing proper MSWM
system.

Therefore, it is suggested that the data related to MSW activities should be regularly tracked, updated
and disseminated to related stakeholders. This will help the stakeholder including public to understand
the overall MSWM status and enable to compare the situation over the time which ensure to make
plan for further improvement. And the tracked data can be used by research scientists and
academicians for further research to innovate new prospective in MSWM.

4.2 Conclusion

The prepared sustainable MSWM framework based on present circumstances requires PPP approach
with commitment in cooperation with citizen since they are primary source of waste. This system
encourage to prevent and reduce waste at the source and is basically grounded on waste hierarchy. In
addition, the existing policy need to be amended as discussed above for the smooth implementation.
All these aspects will contribute to establish the recommended framework for MSWM in KMC which is
the dream of citizen of Kathmandu. Most importantly, the implementation of this framework for
MSWM can generate various benefits which are discussed in appendix 4.

48
Chapter 5
This chapter will make the conclusion of this research which mainly answers the main and sub questions
of this research. The chapter ends with recommendation and overall reflection of this study.

5.1 Conclusion

The current MSWM system of KMC is completely unsystematic and traditionally practiced. KMC is
accountable for carrying out MSWM in which the department of environment is responsible for every
activities related to MSWM. However, informal sector are very active in collecting, abstracting some
material for recycling and transporting waste to dump in landfill site. Surprisingly, most of these
organizations are not registered legally and it is hard to track all the information and data related to
MSW. Likewise, the important stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in MSWM of KMC are
Government of Nepal, municipality office, SWMTSC and other line ministries.

The 3 R concept to manage waste at source has not been practiced and source segregation is negligible.
Households, commercial, institutions and industries are the main source of MSW generation in KMC
where organic waste share large fraction of total MSW and is followed by paper and plastic. The
inorganic waste can be either recycled or reused. The generated waste are collected from door to door,
limited public container, roadside and other public places by KMC and informal PSOs. KMC is collecting
from 12 wards and informal sector collecting waste from 20 wards of KMC. The collected waste are
completely mixed. Hence, bulk amount of unsegregated waste are transferred to landfill and informal
workers such as waste pickers and scavengers separate recyclable and reusable waste by hand. These
recyclable and reusable waste are sold in local scrap dealers and export to local recycling industries or
to India for further process. The remaining waste including all organic waste which is about 44% of total
MSW are landfilled in Sisdol. This is only the landfill for disposing waste of whole Kathmandu Valley and
already reaching out of its carrying capacity. The concept of resource recovery from waste is totally
absent in current MSWM system to reduce the volume of MSW and generate energy. In addition, the
present MSWM system doesn’t meet the environment standard which is causing severe impact in
environment and human health.

Thus, MSWM issue appeared in a critical situation which can be solved with an applicable solution. For
this, KMC should follow the systematic and appropriate framework for MSWM which should integrate
various approaches such as WtE technology and using waste management hierarchy guideline.

A framework developed by the researcher after the in-depth analysis of current MSWM in KMC which
is proposed for the sustainable MSWM system. For instance, the proposed framework in this research
can play an important role for the effective and sustainable MSWM that helps to protect environment

49
in KMC. This framework is particularly focused on waste segregation at source and energy recovery
using WtE technology for effective managing waste. The generated energy will contribute to fill the gap
of energy demand for increasing population in Kathmandu. Two type of WtE technology has been
proposed after the MSW generation and composition analysis which is AD for municipal organic waste
and incineration for plastic and paper waste. Anaerobic digestion of organic waste can generate
approximately 8x103 m3 of methane (CH4) gas per day which can be utilized for cooking purpose since
citizen of KMC are dependent entirely on imported LPG from India. Likewise, about 2.8 MWh/day of
electricity can be generated from methane gas. Furthermore, incineration of plastic and paper waste
can produce about 1.9 MWh/day of electricity in total which is not much, however, can contribute in
continuous growing energy demand in KMC. In other hand, about 419 tons of MSW (about 90% of MSW
of KMC) can be reduced if these WtE technologies will be implemented. Only about 10% of non-
recyclable waste and residues can go to landfill.

For implementing the proposed framework of MSWM system in KMC, different aspects should be
considered. Such as PPP approach in collaboration with government and the private sector is the first
thing to be adopted for systematic MSWM. The knowledge sharing for the public awareness and
dissemination of information about the MSWM system and its significance are essential to be
conducted simultaneously to the citizens. This system should encourage people to segregate waste at
source. Most importantly, the existing policy need to be amended and also the KMC should formulate
precise and strict policy and guideline for MSWM. These aspects will contribute to create “Clean and
Green Kathmandu” which is the dream of citizen of Kathmandu.

5.2 Recommendation

This section provides the recommendation for the best MSWM system in KMC which is very specific
and based on this study finding. After the assessment and analysis of current MSWM practice, its impact
in environment and public health, the potential solution and changes needed on present system to deal
with these issues are discussed in prior sections. Based on this, the following recommendations are
made.

A new framework for MSWM in KMC

Systematic MSWM framework is developed which is centered on sustainability and waste management
hierarchy after the investigation of current inefficiency in entire MSWM supply chain. This framework
requires PPP approach for implementation for improving the effectiveness in management since the
current system is implemented by KMC but very poorly operated. For involving PPP approach, the
existing SMW policy need to be revised and KMC should also formulate a specific policy including the
details about the collaboration with different stakeholders.

50
The proposed model for MSWM starts with 3 R principle of waste management hierarchy that is waste
being reduced at source and it prefers reuse, recycle and recover in the whole waste management
chain which are the essential components to reduce waste and only less waste has to be landfilled
ultimately avoid extra cost for final disposal and minimize the environment risk.

Then the waste separation at source is also a high priority in the framework that will subsequently
contribute in smooth MSWM as it saves time and cost for further segregation. The separated waste
then transported to waste recovery facilities (WtE) plants which can be established near to landfill (the
new landfill site ‘Banchare Danda’ allocated by government). As KMC is generating large fraction of
organic waste, AD as a WtE technology is mentioned in the framework to generate energy. Though, the
concept WtE is yet noble and unexplored in Nepal but this can be the practical solution for minimizing
waste and generate energy in the same time can support energy demand. The generated energy can
be used as vehicle fuel, cooking gas and to generate electricity.

As PPP approach is suggested to hold responsibility of MSWM activities, the public awareness
programme on MSWM and its importance should be conducted through media and workshop which
should also stand in top priority in the framework. Similarly, distribution of different waste bins in public
area should be installed. This can help to stop littering in public and open space.

Further research

Further research are urgently needed to investigate the other issues such as medical waste
management, construction of new landfill site in Banchare Danda related to MSWM. The lack of
availability of data and information regarding MSWM in KMC is the limitation of this study. . Hence, it
is strongly recommended to KMC office and academic institution to conduct research, collect data on
timely manner and update them. The available data are mostly unreliable and insufficient. This might
hinder for developing proper plan and strategies regarding MSWM.

5.3 Overall reflection of this study

Municipal waste management has appeared as one of the major challenges in KMC for many years
since the Sisdol landfill has been out of its capacity to accommodate increasing waste of Kathmandu.
In addition, waste dumping in open public spaces has been creating not only nuisance in the
environment but also impacting public health by spreading diseases by various vermin and insects. The
current MSWM system lacks proper framework that should help in addressing every aspects regarding
MSWM. The current MSWM system lacks proper framework that should help in addressing every
aspects regarding MSWM. Although government has formulated policy in different time period aiming
for the proper MSWM however, it is found that enforcement provision for strict implementation does
not exist until now. The different activities related to proper MSWM such as waste segregation at

51
source and energy recovery which are mentioned as most important aspects to be executed, however,
these are limited only in policy documents.

Similarly, it is observed that KMC lacks motivated and proper technical staff to handle the overall
MSWM system. In addition, the attitude of citizen towards MSWM need to change. It is also noticed
that waste is taken as nuisance and citizen perceive that managing municipal waste is only the
responsibility of municipality. The people’s perception towards MSWM require to change and they
should recognize this issue and participate and cooperate municipality in MSWM, for instance, in waste
segregation at source.

After assessing and investigating the current MSWM and different aspect related to MSWM in KMC, it
is distinctly noticed that disorganized MSWM system is currently in practice and waste are discarded in
landfill without resource recovery which urgently needs to change for the proper MSWM.

Therefore, this research emphasized on integration of WtE technology in MSWM system for recovering
and reduce waste that goes to landfill. For this, planned and strategic framework is required which is
developed as proposed MSWM model for KMC. This framework highlights mainly to recover energy
from waste that helps to reduce waste and contribute towards environmental protection. The
implementation of this framework requires to update major aspects such as policy and legal framework,
managerial aspect, financial aspect, technical aspect and adoption of PPP approach. The proposed
model can be an example for the MSWM in many other municipalities of Nepal as many municipalities
are emerging as big cities and are facing MSWM challenge.

Most of the municipality rarely have proper plan and strategies for proper MSWM system. Hence, the
developed framework and knowledge (different theories and approach used such as waste
management hierarchy and WtE approach) in this study can contribute in developing plan for MSWM.

52
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 Appendix
Appendix 1: Data and information required for the research and accessing method for answering the research main questions and
sub questions
Research questions Data and information to answer the research questions Sources of data Accessing data

Main question Main question: How is the waste Demography and socioeconomic situation of Kathmandu metropolitan city Secondary Data and different literatures, Content analysis
management system in History of the solid waste management in the metropolitan city and observation reports, journal, central bureau of
Kathmandu Metropolitan city statistic, policy documents Search method for different
currently organized and managed Policy on solid waste management literature
and which changes are needed to Type of current waste management practice in the metropolitan city
use the waste as resource for
Impact of current waste management practice (environmental and social)
energy production?

Sub questions Sub question How is the current Waste collection, transport, treatment and dumping processes Primary and secondary data Content analysis
waste management system in Type, composition and volume of waste generated in the metropolitan city Primary information from interview for Face to face interview to
Kathmandu Metropolitan City
Organization /stakeholder working on waste management qualitative analysis access information from
organized with what results?
Any private sector’s involvement in the solid waste management Secondary data and different literatures, officials
reports, journal

How could a waste management Available policy documents Primary and secondary data and different Content analysis and search
system according to concept of literatures, reports, journal method for different literature
Type of technology (converting waste to energy) and its feasibility in context of
waste to energy look like for
type of waste generated in Kathmandu Primary information from interview for Face to face interview to
KMC?
Different literature analysis (from other country who has practiced waste to energy qualitative analysis access information from
approaches) officials
Reports and documents

What changes in the current Municipality’s plan for applying waste to energy concept to manage solid waste Primary and secondary data and different Content analysis and search
waste management system of literatures, reports, journal method for different literature
Type technologies that municipality are willing to implement
Kathmandu are needed for
Informant: from municipality and AEPC Content analysis and interview
transforming it into a waste to Policy gap for effective waste management plan
for secondary source validation with official from municipality
energy system?
Different literature analysis (from other country who has practiced waste to energy
Available planning documents and related and AEPC
approaches)
stakeholders

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Appendix 2: Allocation of budget for different SWM activities and expenses in KMC

Source: OAG, 2015

Appendix 3: Percentage of expense on different activities of MSWM in KMC

Source: OAG, 2015

Appendix 4: Opportunity and benefits from new proposed MSWM system in KMC
The existing solid waste management approach is based on obsolete system in KMC and operates
inefficient. So, it neither creating any opportunity to use the waste nor protecting environment. The
proposed framework is based on sustainable MSWM system which suggests involvement of public
private partner (PPP) approach for the implementation. It is believed that the successful
implementation of this framework will be able to address the following issues.

i. Reduction in impacts on human health and environment and aesthetic value of the city

Haphazard disposing and open burning of solid waste is common practice in KMC creating
environmental pollution and impact on public health since current MSWM do not meet the proper
environmental standards. This current landfill site was designed for disposing waste of Kathmandu
valley for 3 years and started from 2005 as a part of temporary solution. Since then, waste generated
is dumped still now in 2019. Residents live to the vicinity of this landfill are suffering from the smell
from garbage and diseases spread from the open decomposition of the organic waste (Sutton, 2011;

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Abualqumboz, 2016). In addition, the study reported that the decomposition of organic wastes in Sisdol
landfills is generating greenhouse gases (Adhikari et al., 2015) and untreated leachate is polluting
surrounding soil and water resources (OAG, 2015). Likewise, many rivers inside the cities are littered by
full of trash and garbage which can damage the ecosystem of river as well as aesthetic value of water
resources (US EPA, n.d., and NOWPAP MERRAC 2013)16. However, the proposed framework is
structured to address all these issues.

ii. Minimize high dependency on import of fossil fuel

Nepal does not have particular reserve for natural gas, oil and coal. The fuel consumption in Nepal has
been rocketing by 90% than before 5 years (CBS, 2018). This shows that huge amount of money is
financed for importing fossil fuel. Therefore, different form of energy innovations and development
such as energy from waste (WtE) is critically required to tackle this complete dependency on external
source.

iii. Surplus of energy to fill electricity demand

The electricity demand has been continuously steep upward with the rapid increase of population and
highly expanding urbanization in Nepal however, the supply has not been able to meet their demand.
Although Nepal has abundant hydro resources with a potential of generating 83,000 MW of electricity
in which about 43,000 MW of electricity can be utilized practically (ADB, 2014). However, the capacity
of existing hydropower plants had just 802.4 MW or even less than 2% of the total potential of
exploitable electricity generation by the end of 2016 (ADB, 2017). The public has to go through the
regular scheduled load shedding and blackout all over the country during the dry season. Nepal is
ranked 137th position in case of quality of electricity supply out of 147 countries (ADB, 2015) though it
has enormous potential of power generation from hydro resources.

It is estimated that 27.6 million population as base year in 2014 will be increased by 1.37% per year and
will reach to 39 million by the year 2030 (NPC and IBN, 2011). Resultantly, this has also projected the
heavy urban growth and population will increase by 49% in 2030. This estimated trends show that per
capita energy consumption will be increased tremendously over the time where total energy demand
is projected to be 16.54 GWyr while 3.817 GWyr demand is for electricity for the year 2030. (NPC and
IBN, 2011). Hence, the import of energy from external source cannot be the sustainable solution. In
this scenario, the forecasted energy demand will be achieved if innovative and efficient technology will
be implemented for generating different form of energy more specifically clean energy. Therefore, WtE

16
http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Pollution-of-Streams-by-Garbage-and-Trash.html

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can be the promising technology to generate renewable and sustainable energy to solve energy
demand.

iv. Sustainable development goal achievement

Sustainable development goal (SDG) is the global goal with 2030 agenda as the blueprint to achieve the
prosperous sustainable future for all (UN, 2015) and the 2030 agenda include 17 different goals. The
SDG number 7 aims to access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern form of energy for all
citizens. Clean energy as the essential part of the global strategies has been recognized for eliminating
poverty, protecting the planet, earth and for ensuring the prosperous future for all17. The report
published by National Planning Commission (NPC), Nepal on 2015 reported that currently about 75%
of households are heavily dependent on solid fuel (traditional energy sources) as the primary source of
energy and more than 25% of the households are using liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in Nepal. This picture
evidently witnessed that the absence of access to modern and cleaner cooking facilities. Likewise, only
75% HHs has excess to electricity and remaining 25% of HHs lack electricity supply representing the
supply and demand gap (NPC, 2015). Historically the nation’s economic growth is strongly correlated
to the nation’s per capita energy use mainly electricity. The per capita electricity consumption in Nepal
was 140 kWh which is the lowest energy consumption in South Asia (Shrestha, 2018). The electricity
generation in Nepal is just reliant on hydropower with very negligible amount of solar and others and
renewable energy shares only 12% of total energy consumption in 2015 (Shrestha, 2018).

In this scenario, the SGD goal for Nepal seem quite ambitious, in which the proposed target for 2030
include 99% of HHs with access to electricity, increasing the per capita electricity to 1500 kWh and
reducing the commercial energy consumption per unit of GDP from 3.20 ToE/mRs to 3.14 ToE/mRs by
2030 (NPC, 2015).

Nevertheless, involvement of private sectors in energy development and the promotion of different
form of renewable energy such as biogas generation from MSW by using appropriate WtE technologies
can strengthen the energy situation on Nepal which ultimately help to meet the target (SDGs).

17
http://www.searo.who.int/nepal/documents/

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