To strengthen the waste collection system for an integrated approach to waste management in the country, the government received a grant of Nu 85 M from the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation (BTFEC).
The BTFEC handed over the grant to the Gross National Happiness Commission to support the Waste Management Flagship Programme.
Bhutan produces over 170 metric tonnes of waste every day. Individual person produces 230 grams of waste in a day. But recycling those waste is still poor to this day.
Thinley Dorji, the Chief Environment Officer for Waste Management Division with the National Environment Commission says proper segregation, recycling and reduction at source will help in addressing the pressure on the landfills; “We do have the Dzongkhags, the Thromde and the municipalities putting quite a bit of effort to segregate, to do effective collection but even in Thimphu, if you look at the survey data and all, and if you go around and see, from the things that we collect, we are not doing 100 per cent effective collection from Thimphu itself. I would say 80 per cent or more is still going to the landfill.”
However, the grant will be used to adopt a system of reducing waste to a minimum as well as re-using, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products. It will also reduce pressure on the landfills. This is called a circular economy.
“The introduction of three bins, with proper education awareness, behavioural change, efforts that we have developed in the flagship, also complimented by the other adequate facilities such as transportation, the garbage trucks, the recovery facilities and the drop off centres and properly engineered landfill and the recycling plans or the recycling facilities that we are setting up. It is going to move towards a circular economy,” he added.
Specifically, a big chunk of the fund will also be used for managing bio-medical hazardous wastes produced mainly due to the pandemic. Over Nu 3bn is required for the whole waste flagship programme. And around Nu 248 M excluding the Nu 85 M is collected as of now.
Samten Dolkar
