To increase the lifespan of the Memelakha landfill, the Thimphu Thromde recently carried out a major renovation. The lifespan has now been increased by more than four years.
The dry wastes collected from houses and other sources do not directly go to the landfill. It goes through the waste recovery centre where wastes with values are recycled and segregated.
During the landfill renovation works, The Green Road, a private company, which uses the plastics for blacktopping roads, recovered about 170 metric tons of dry plastics.
The rest of the wastes were compressed and kept at the landfill.
“Last year we conducted a survey in collaboration with the Japan Environment Sanitation Centre to check the life span of the landfill. As we don’t have space for constructing other landfills, we manage the best we can and increased the lifespan by 4 and a half years,” Tshering Yangzom, the Environmental Officer of Thimphu Thromde, said.
As part of the renovation, bamboos were also planted to enhance the aesthetic beauty of the place. Thimphu Thromde also plans to erect pipes to enhance faster decomposition of the wastes as the pipes let the oxygen in.
The memelakha landfill was first constructed in 1994 with an initial lifespan of 8 years.
