Doko Recyclers, in collaboration with Red Panda Network, conducted a waste management workshop on the 13th of September 2022 at Jaubari – a small village located in the Ilam district. Jaubari, a natural habitat for the endangered Red Panda and other wildlife species, has been facing the problem of waste management – identified as a leading cause of habitat deterioration. A proper waste management workshop for the local community was therefore considered as a solution to this emerging problem.
Local people, unaware of the environmental impacts of pollution, practiced open burning and dumping around the conservation area. The community also lacked a common waste collection system or central segregation sites and dumping sites. Some initiatives had been taken in the past such as forming a waste management committee but it became inactive due to COVID-19. However, proper training on waste management is essential before establishing any form of waste management system.
The small village consists of 25 households, 6 shops, and 4 homestays. The program was given to 20 people covering each category. The workshop consolidated with activities to give an overall scenario of waste management in Nepal, impacts due to improper waste management , and probable solutions for proper management. As waste segregation is a key to proper waste management, a detailed interactive session was conducted to train the participants on waste segregation. Jaubari, being a tourist area, the major problematic dry waste identified were Glass bottles, Multiple-Layer Plastics (MLPs), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles, and other varieties of plastics. At the end of the sessions, the participants were able to segregate the recyclables and non-recyclables along with the proper end-of-life process.
Different types of plastics were found to haphazardly be disposed of on trekking trails causing pollution. Thus, beside training, signages in both Nepali and English languages were also installed along the trekking trail.The signages contained messages with the motive to raise awareness among tourists and local people to protect the environment and prevent pollution. Some of the messages were ‘Do not pollute our earth, we only have one planet’, ‘Keep your plastics in your pocket’, ‘Be a part of the solution, not part of the pollution’, ‘Do not burn waste, protect our health, air, and environment’, ‘Be responsible of your own waste’ etc.
The awareness program was successfully conducted. All the objectives were met and a visible impact regarding the knowledge about waste management, 7Rs and sustainability was observed among the local people. Besides awareness, the training ignited the spark of having a waste management committee, composed of a women’s group, to work on the issue related waste management. We are looking forward to taking similar initiatives in other rural communities and remote villages.