Need for alternative approaches in solid waste management - case study Kathmandu Valley

This paper presents the case study of the failure of traditional solid waste management approaches, using the case study of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal and stresses on the need to change to a community focused one. It studies the impacts caused by solid waste dumping in Gokarna Landfill Site considering various monitoring points, the analysis of which concluded the quality of water used by the community is not potable. Further, the community survey conducted revealed that a complete lack of awareness and involvement of the community during the planning stage has resulted into community resentment, lack of ownership and acceptance, and is hampering appropriate monitoring of the landfill. Considering planning and developing solid waste management solutions to date as a purely technical problem has led to the failure of these ‘solutions’ with catastrophic impacts. Hence, there is a need for a major shift in approaching the solid waste management issue.