It is said one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And this has turned out to be true for a family in Trashigang that has ventured into a waste management business.
The family business is flourishing alongside the district’s mounting waste problem. At Trashigang’s landfill, Samphel and his son, Tandin Tshewang, are busy collecting pet bottles, paper and all other kinds of recyclable wastes. This has been one of their routines since the family business, Green Path, was set up some four months ago. But they are not the only ones in the family occupied in furthering the venture as Tandin explains.
“My elder brother goes to Thimphu to attend relevant workshops and look for supports. My other brother, parents and I work here. My mother collects wastes from the hospital area. My father and I go to different places in the town to collect wastes,” said Tandin Tshewang.
It was Samphel who first thought of opening the district’s first and only waste compressing unit. Approving of the idea, one of his sons then applied for a loan of Nu 3 M through the Priority Sector Lending.
“Villagers are not in a position to transport wastes individually since they do not produce enough. As a result, people are careless about their wastes. But now, after I started collecting the wastes, they are doing the same since they can make some money from it. I am happy people are encouraged to manage wastes properly,” shares Samphel.
In a month, Green Path collects more than five tons of recyclable wastes. This translates to a net profit of Nu 50,000 to 60,000 for the family.
Besides, establishing the unit has also contributed in employment generation in the locality. Currently, excluding the family members, the unit has four regular and six temporary staff.
At the moment, the compressed wastes are taken to Samdrup Jongkhar or Phuentsholing once every month. But, as the business reaches out to more communities and extra wastes are collected, Samphel and his family are planning to make the travel more frequent. They want to pursue their unit’s aim – towards a clean environment – more vigorously.
Sonam Darjay
