26

Solid Waste Management in Nepalese

Municipalities

Solid Waste Management in

Itahari Municipality
His Majesty's Government

Ministry of Local Development

Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Center
Environment and Public Health Organisation

Clean
Energy
Nepal
Preface

1
Solid Waste Management in Itahari Municipality is one among a series of 58
reports, which briefly describes the current situation of solid waste management
in each of the 58 municipalities in Nepal. The information presented in this report
was obtained from a review of relevant literature, interviews with key municipal
staff as well as other stakeholders, and a waste generation and composition
survey. As the report is based on information collected over a short period,
including a one-week field visit conducted in September 2003, this is not a
comprehensive study, but it provides a brief overview of the solid waste
management situation in the municipality.

This study was commissioned by Solid Waste Management and Resource

Mobilisation Centre (SWMRMC) of the Ministry of Local Development. A team of
four experts, Dr. Nawa Raj Khatiwada, Bhushan Tuladhar, Ashok Tuladhar and
Dinesh Raj Manandhar, coordinated the study. The field investigations in each of
the 58 municipalities were conducted by a team of environmental officers under
the guidance of the coordination team.

This series of reports will be valuable for researchers as well as planners and
managers of solid waste management systems. An analysis of the key findings
from all the 58 municipalities is presented in a separate report published by
SWMRMC.

Clean Energy Nepal (CEN) and Environment and Public Health Organization
(ENPHO) wishes to thank Mr. Surya Man Shakya, General Manager of
SWMRMC, for taking this bold and innovative initiative of gathering information on
the solid waste management situation in all the 58 municipalities of Nepal for the
first time. We also wish to thank the coordination team, as well as Mr. Murali
Ranjit and Mr. Nirmal Acharya of SWMRMC, for their valuable input. Finally, we
are very grateful to all the environmental officers who visited the municipalities to
collect the required information and the municipal staff and the local people who
have provided us with this information.

Bhushan
Tuladhar
Executive Director
Clean Energy
Nepal

Dr. Roshan Raj

Shrestha Executive
Chairman
Environment and Public Health Organization

July 2004

1
This report was prepared by Bhushan Tuladhar and Bhumika Vaiday based on field
investigations conducted by Santosh Khatiwada.
Solid Waste Management & Resource Mobilization
Centre

1 Introduction
Itahari is a mid-sized municipality located in Sunsari District in eastern Nepal
along the East-West Highway. Because of its strategic location between Dharan
and Biratnagar, the city is growing rapidly. The Municipality was established in
2053 B.S and it has 9 wards, of which only 3 are urban areas.

Table 1: Background Information

NAME ITAHARI MUNICIPALITY
District Sunsari
Year of Establishment 2053 B.S
No. of Wards 9
No. of Urban Wards 3
No. of Rural and semi urban Wards 6
Total Area 42.37 sq. km (CBS data)
Built-up Area 30 ha
Major Rivers and Ponds Tangra, Budhi, Mechikali
Pokhari
Total Road length Black-topped: 20 km
Graveled: 131.57km
Others: 125 km
Total: 276.57
Population (2001) 41210 (CBS)
No. of Households (2001) 8624 (CBS)
No. Shops 1898
No. of Restaurants, hotels and lodges 350
Annual Population Growth Rate (1991- 4.4
2001)
Estimated Population for 2003 44,916
Population Density 972.62 per sq. km (CBS)

2 Waste Generation and Composition

According to the field survey done in 2003, the average per capita household
waste generation rate in Itahari was 0.41 kg/person/day. This is higher than
average waste generation rate in urban areas of Nepal, which is 0.25
kg/person/day. Considering the total population of Itahari in 2003, which is
estimated to be 44,905, the total amount of household waste generated in the
municipality comes out to be 18.4 tons per day. If we assume that 75 percent of
the total municipal waste is generated by households, then the total municipal
waste generated in Itahari becomes 24.5 tons per day.

The composition of waste shows that although organic waste is the largest portion
of the waste stream, the percentage of organic waste is relatively low compared
to some other municipalities. The national average for organic content in
municipal waste is 65 percent. The low value for organic waste may be due to the
composting practices in some wards. Similarly, the portion of inert material,
plastics and paper is relatively very high.

Solid Waste Management in Itahari Municipality 1

 Figure 1 Waste Composition
Inerts Others
0.3%
Organic waste

Solid Waste Management & Resource Mobilization

Centre

The loose density of household waste in Itahari was calculated to be 283.6 kg per
m3.

Information on Itahari 's waste generation and composition is based on waste

collected from 85 households of Aitabare area of ward 1 and 4, that had waste from
423 people.

3 Waste Collection
According to the municipality, it is collecting approximately 9 tons of waste per day.
Assuming that the total waste generation rate is 24.5 tons per day, the municipality is
collecting about 37 percent of the waste generated. Most of the waste this is not
collected is probably waste from rural areas.

For waste collection, the municipality has two-tractor trailor with capacity of 2.6 m3
and 3 carts with capacity of 0.41 m3. Municipality provides roadside pick up service
daily. But it does not have container service or door-to-door service.

Itahari Municipality has 2 supervisors, 19 permanent and 5 temporary sweepers for

waste management. The sweepers sweep 6 km of road daily, 2 km twice a week and
2.5 km once a week. The household waste is either placed in container or on
roadside in front of own house, which is then collected by the municipality.

4 Final Disposal
The collected waste is a disposed in a crude dumping at Ward No 6, which is about 1
km from the city. The site with an area of 1.2 ha has been used for the past two
years. The estimated life span of the current dump site is 8 years. Previously, the
municipality used to dump waste in Budhi Khola. Though the landfill site is crude,
municipality has no plans to construct a proper landfill site in future.

However, there are some plans for exploring the feasibility of developing a combined
landfill and compost plant for the three neighbouring municipalities of

Solid Waste Management in Itahari Municipality 2

 Solid Waste Management & Resource Mobilization
Centre

Biratnagar, Itahari and Dharan. As Itahari is located in the middle of Dharan and
Biratnagar, such an arrangement will be beneficial for Itahari.

5 Composting and Recycling

According to the municipality about 15 percent of the households are practicing
composting. The Municipality is also planning to build a compost plant in Ward 6 and
8 by 2004. It is approximately 1.5 km from the city and will have output capacity of
2.5-ton/ day. But they lack budget for its construction.

Municipality allows scavenging in collection as well as disposal site. There are 5

kawadis dealing with the scrap materials within the municipality.

6 Special Waste Management

The Municipality does not have any system for collecting and managing medical
waste or any other type of special waste separately. The municipality has 5 hospitals,
23 clinics and 11 laboratories. Medical waste from these facilities is dumped along
with regular waste. Dead animals are buried and construction and demolition waste is
reused. Industrial waste is either dumped or drained.

7 Community Mobilization
The municipality has initiated a few activities to mobilize local communities. People in
“Bagaicha tol” in Ward 4 have tried to ban the use of plastic bags.

Similarly, “Children clubs” have been established in 5 community schools, to initiate

school-based environmental activities. Some efforts have also been made to promote
home composting.

8 Organizational and Financial Aspects

Environment, Health and Cleaning unit in the municipality is responsible for solid
waste management. There are 2 supervisor and 24 sweepers assigned for solid
waste management in the municipality.

The municipality spends approximately Rs. 4,65,000 per year in solid waste
management. This is about five percent of the total municipal budget. Itahari
Municipality is also planning to charge a fee for solid waste management services.

9 Major Problems and Issues

The problems associated with waste management in Itahari are the lack of proper
landfill site, insufficient involvement of community and private organizations, lack of
skilled manpower, lack of public awareness and less priority given to waste
management. Furthermore, separate treatment for the special waste and proper
waste collection service is required.

10 Conclusion & Recommendations

Although some good programmes have been initiated in Itahari for solid waste
management, it still requires financial and technical support to improve its waste
management system. The waste collection system needs to be more effective
and the dumping site needs to be improved. Additional effort is also required for
maximizing public participation in waste management.

Solid Waste Management in Itahari Municipality 3

Solid Waste Management & Resource Mobilization
Centre

Recommendations:

1. The Municipality should initiate activities to involve local communities

in waste management. Communities can help by reducing the amount of
waste they generate, separating their waste at home, composting their
organic waste and giving their waste directly to waste collectors instead of
dumping it on the streets.

2. According to the field survey, proportion of plastic and paper is very

high so recycling programs should be encouraged.

3. Haphazard disposal of waste should be stopped and a simple landfill

should be constructed.

4. Municipality plans to construct landfill site but needs technical support

and a proper location to build a landfill site. SWMRMC should provide
technical and financial support for exploring the possibility of having a
combined compost plant and landfill site for Itahari, Dharan and Biratnagar.

5. Along with the construction of landfill site municipality should also

promote composting.

6. Medical waste should be managed separately.

7. Proper waste collection system should be developed so that open

piles on the streets are discouraged.

For more information please contact:

Mr. Krishna Kumar Niraula Executive Officer Itahari Municipality

Phone: 025-581706, 580046, 580509 Fax: 977-025-581836
Annex 1: Photographs

Hand Cart Used for Waste Collection

Solid Waste Management in Itahari Municipality 4

Tractor Used for Waste Collection

 Compost Bin Made By Municipality

Statue of Buddha Made from Waste Plastics

Sign Promoting Home Composting

Waste Dumping Site