Household Solid Waste Generation and Composition in Pokhara

Abstract

Population growth and distribution have significant roles to waste generation. Not only the number of people, but also the lifestyle, consumption patterns, and people inhabit and use directly affect the waste generation. More people demand more resources and generate more waste. One of the challenges of a growing population is that the mere presence of so many people sharing a limited number of resources strains the environment. Per capita waste generation has risen day by day. In this context, this study
aimed to identify the current status of solid waste generation and composition in the households of Pokhara. For this purpose, 388 households were chosen from all the 33 wards of Pokhara Metropolitan City for collecting the information regarding waste generation and composition. Descriptive statistics was carried out for this study.

The household waste generation rates varied depending on caste and ethnicity, the analysis of waste generation shows that the highest per capita generation making up 0.4 kg produced by Dalit, 0.33 kg produced by Janajati and 0.31 kg produced by Brahmin/Chhetri. The analysis of waste composition showed that organic matter accounted for the highest fraction, making up 64.47% of organic waste, 14.57% of reusable/recycle waste and 20.69 of landfill. The results can be used as part of the waste management planning purpose for the concerned stakeholders.