Garbage management has become a challenge at most local levels. However, Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city is turning the city's waste into 'Mohar' by collecting and managing it.

In the last fiscal year 2080/81, the sub-metropolitan environment, water supply and sanitation management branch chief engineer Ashok Awasthi said that they earned 25 lakh 50 thousand rupees by waste collection and processing. According to him, the private sector has been awarded a contract for waste management for 72 lakhs in the current financial year. "The contract amount is increasing at the rate of 10 percent every year," he said.

The sub-metropolitan city, which is conducting the 'Hamro Dhangadhi, Safa Dhangadhi' campaign, has banned littering. For the sanitation campaign, the sub-metropolis has been organizing sanitation committees for one and a half years from toll booths to schools. When collecting from homes and public areas, decomposable and non-decomposable waste is collected separately . "Now the market is very clean," said Pramesh Bhatt of Taranagar, Dhangadhi, "even the garbage collected at home is taken away by the municipal vehicle every week." For the purpose of classifying and re-using the waste, the sub-city has established a micro classification center. In Saraswati Toll located in Dhangadhi-2, in July last year, a micro-waste classification center was established along with a biogas plant. Non-perishable plastic, iron, rubber, paper and lead waste has been separated and stored.

After the contract was placed, the burden of garbage collection on Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city has also decreased . Out of 19 wards, 21 tons of waste is collected daily from nine wards and the center has classified and sold the collected waste. In other 10 wards, waste is being collected by placing dustbins in commercial centers through the cleanliness campaign.

"In the last fiscal year, 4 crores were spent on waste collection including employees, vehicles," said Engineer Awasthi, "this expense has been reduced this year." The sub-metropolis had collected 56 tons of garbage in the past years. Currently, 43 tons of waste is being collected by private partners and 13 tons of waste is being collected by the sub-metropolis. Awasthi said that by activating the four pillars of waste management (policy, budget, physical infrastructure and public awareness), success has been achieved in waste management.

A biogas plant has been installed in partnership with the Deputy Metropolitan Municipality, Alternative Energy Promotion Center and Dev Training Center. The sub-city is producing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from waste . According to the sub-metropolis, 60 cylinders of gas are being produced daily. The sub-metropolis is also producing two and a half tons of compost every day from the rotting waste . Bio gas plant consumes 18 tons of waste daily.

Sub-metropolitan has mobilized facilitators for public awareness in Vadawada and Toll Sanitation Committee has been formed in Toll Toll. According to the sub-metropolis, sanitation committees, educational institutions (private and government) and eco clubs are being awarded for their excellent and exemplary work in accordance with the public awareness and participation policy regarding waste management from home to school.

On the occasion of its foundation day, the sub-metropolitan city honored the ideal toll sanitation committee of Dhangadhi-2 by giving a scheme equal to 10 lakhs for its excellent work by contributing to the 'Our Dhangadhi, Clean Dhangadhi' campaign . Similarly, Behdaba Mavi of Ward-16 and Rising Star English School of Ward-6 were honored with five lakhs each for their excellence in cleanliness.

Mayor Gopal Hamal said that the concept of 'Zero Waste' will be implemented for the sustainable management of waste using a technology-based management system . Mayor Hamal says that Dhangadi, which has banned plastic in the city, has installed plastic bottle collection equipment, upgraded toilets in public places, prepared a consumer database system, solid waste management and information system, ENWAS database system, made laws for faecal waste management and protected surface water sources.