| Author | Penjor, Yeshey |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-07-62 |
| Subject(s) | Refuse and refuse disposal--Bhutan
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| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environment Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Bhutan, a small Himalayan Kingdom, where "Gross National Happiness (GNH)" philosophy is the guiding spirit for the developmental progress, sustainable wastes management is inevitable, especially the municipal solid wastes (MSW). A nation, highly dependent on import, subsistence farming and tourism needs to be very careful with wastes generation and the management. As of now, the major population remains innocent about the consequences of the unmanaged wastes and waste management techniques. Also, very limited options remain for improvement of the conventional waste management systems. In most urban settlements, formal.waste management does not even exist. In Thimphu, the capital city, the conventional system of collecting, transporting and disposing the MSW initiated in 1993 is ongoing. There has been not much improvement or changes in the system over the years. The collected wastes is transported and dumped at Memelakha, an open site about 10 kilometers away from the downtown. Around 80,000 people live in the 26 square kilometers city area of Thimphu, which stretches from Chantagang in the north to Ngabi Rongchu in the south, fanning on Thimphu River. The Thimphu City Corporation (TCC) is solely responsible for managing the MSW of Thimphu city. It has limited resources, manpower and facilities. Public responsibility sharing and specific waste management institutional tools also are limited. The weeklong physical survey at the Memelakha disposal site for my thesis study found that around 32 tones of commingled wastes is daily collected and transported to this site. The site is virtually over used and wastes are physically overflowing. The physical survey at the source point conducted for three months, from March to May 2007 found that the per day source point waste generation capacity is around 65 tones. Residential household per capita waste generation is estimated to be 0.56 kg/day. All the uncollected 50% wastes may not be remaining in the environment because certain recyclable waste components are collected by business vendors and informal waste pickers for trading across the border or recycled. There are cost effective policy options in the 3Rs paradigm to address the MSW management of Thimphu. Few crucial parameters to highlight are; i) introduction of `polluters pay principle' (municipal taxation and service fees) for financial security and responsibility sharing, ii) formalization of the international/regional waste management cooperation, iii) encouragement of private parties and industries to initiate cooperation in MSW management, iv) enhancing MSW management awareness and education, v) very importantly to apply waste segregation practice at source and establish a transfer station. It is inevitable that the upcoming National Solid Waste Management Act must embrace all these crucial elements |
| Year | 2007 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Visvanathan, C |
| Examination Committee(s) | N. T. Kim Oanh;Iyngararasan, Mylvakanam |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007 |