As we all know that, “plastic waste management is not a national issue, it is a global problem”. And this is one of the defining problems of the generation. Globally, we produce 2 billion tons of waste every single year. And amongst the waste that we send into the landfills and dumping sites roughly 80% of the items could be recycled and brought back into the economy. And in high-income countries, only 33% of the waste is recycled.
But it is even worse for the developing part of the world where roughly only 4-5% of the waste is recycled bought back into the economy, created jobs, improved the health of the environment, and most importantly created a sustainable culture that would have lived on for generations to come.
A study conducted by UNDP
In Nepal, the urban areas generate above 360 tons of plastic waste every day, according to a study conducted by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Accelerator the Lab Nepal between October and December of 2020. The recent reports tried to explore the collaboration of urban municipalities with other stakeholders to manage waste.
The result showed insubstantial collaboration with stakeholders. Only about 4 percent of municipalities reported that they were working or potentially can work with agencies to manage plastic waste. Only about 3 percent of
people have worked or have plans of working with companies/industries that use/produce plastic waste to manage plastic waste, showed the report released on February 17, 2021.
The reports have made plans for plastic waste management in the urban municipalities of Nepal:
1. The collaboration with the private sector and other stakeholders needs to be scaled up at the municipality level.
2. Allocating CSR funds from plastic production companies should be encouraged and regulated as embellished in the laws.
3. The practice of allocating budget for plastic waste management has to be expanded to all municipalities
4. Reusing and recycling plastic waste should be encouraged.
Consequently, the people mandate local bodies to take the necessary steps to promote reduction, reuse, and recycling (3R), including segregation of municipal solid waste at the source.