“Waste to Harvest: Promoting Waste Segregateion, Composting, and Rooftop Gardening for Sustainable Urban Living”.

Kathmandu Valley faces major waste management issues, with 1,600 tons of waste dumped daily, making landfills a key source of methane emissions. A lack of waste segregation, due to low community awareness, worsens the problem. This project aims to educate residents on the 3R principle for non-degradable waste and promote composting for degradable waste, offering technical guidance to ensure success. The approach reduces landfill waste, supports rooftop gardening, and boosts local organic produce and environmental sustainability.

Households are managing waste by following the 3R principle—reduce, reuse, and recycle. For example, they repurpose plastic waste for rooftop gardening and compost degradable waste for use in the garden. Only 10-20% of waste, which they can’t manage, is sent for collection, reducing landfill waste. Vegetable expenses have dropped by 60-70%. During community campaigns, residents reported issues like bad smells and pests in composting, but after receiving technical advice, they adopted the solutions with success. Waste personnel confirmed that segregated waste is easier to handle, and communities practicing composting enjoy organic produce, better health, and a cleaner environment.

TEAM MEMBERS:

• Anjana Poudel
• Bishesh Khanal
• Kusum Rana Chhetri
• Manoj Acharya