By Indira Aryal
Bhaktapur, Oct. 22: Madhyapur Thimi Municipality has started making odourless compost from household waste using the Japanese technology. By doing so, it has set an example of utilising the waste produced from every house.
Madan Sundar Shrestha, mayor of the municipality, said that they had started collecting wastes from Ward No. 4 of the municipality as a pilot project. The municipality does not charge the locals in the area for their waste collection as it has been used for making organic compost.
The manure centre is also located in the same ward. “Along with the development of the historical and cultural monuments, we are working to make the municipality clean and attractive. At a time when rapid urbanisation is adding to the challenges of waste management, composting can be an effective means of sustainable sanitation,” he said.
The compost centre has also provided training to 125 people from other areas. Compost worth of Rs 30 million was sold in fiscal year 2076/77.
Mayor Shrestha said, "Other municipalities have a waste problem but waste in Madhyapur has become a source of income." The municipality has started producing manure after conducting an on-site observation in Toba city of Japan.
Started with the financial investment of the municipality and technical assistance of Rikish Private Limited, the municipality has made internal preparations to develop it as a training centre as fertilizer production has become effective.
Shrestha said that Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Kagehwari Manohara, Gokarneshwar, Suryabinayak, Tokha and Chandragiri Municipalities have already conducted a field study to produce manure using the same technology.
Similarly, the representatives of Panchkhal of Kavre, Jiri Municipality of Dolakha and stakeholders have made internal preparations to produce manure after conducting on-site study. Apart from that, Rapti Municipality of Chitwan has constructed the necessary infrastructure to produce manure using that technology.
Madhyapur Thimi Municipality has become the centre of attraction for many after it started producing compost manure using the new technology at a time when there is a huge problem of waste management.
According to Shrestha, there is a plan to develop the municipality as a tourist destination, for which it is formulating a master plan in order to protect tangible and intangible heritages of the city. Researchers, farmers, students, environmentalists and people's representatives from different fields all have now become interested in monitoring the situation on the spot.
Shyam Manandhar, a resident of the municipality, said that the work started by the municipality had become a model for the country. “We do not have to think about throwing the waste now if we learn to make compost out of it, as it can be used in our kitchen garden,” Manandhar said.