Gender and Waste Nexus: Experiences from Bhutan, Mongolia and Nepal

Nepal

Managers at their scrap yard in Kathmandu where PET bottles get collected and baled before exporting for recycling in India. They employ three young boys to bale the bottles. Photo by Tina Schoolmeester.

at home. Such exposure increases in the later stages of the recycling process, particularly in cases when rudimentary recycling methods are used.

capacity and dumping practices have become dangerous, signalling the need for immediate change. In principle, the Government is committed to finding solutions to the growing waste problem. However, in practice, the allocation of resources does not align with its efforts. Despite Nepal’s waste management ambitions, Kathmandu has recently experienced budgetary cuts, reducing the budget for waste services from 35.9 per cent of total budget allocations in 2016–2017 to 22.4 per cent in 2017–2018 (Nepal, MoFAGA 2018). Meeting the country’s waste goals will likely involve moving from manual to mechanized work, recognizing and/ or formalizing the informal sector and finding land for composting and transfer stations, all of which require governmental support.. Waste collection companies Big changes in waste management are expected in Kathmandu Valley following the new arrangement with the Nepalese–Finnish joint venture, NepWaste, which will provide door-to-door waste collection services, street sweeping, riverbank clean-ups, recycling services and final disposal management. NepWaste, which is managed by four male senior managers and Operational level

Policy and governance

In Nepal, women’s participation in political, administrative and economic leadership is limited. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), women are employed in only 18.8 per cent of legislator, senior official and managerial roles at the national level, compared with 81.2 per cent for men (WEF 2018). Men aremore dominant in thewaste sector, especially at high decision-making levels in both the public and private sectors, with women tending to occupy the lower paid supporting positions. Waste-related legislation in Nepal makes minimal reference to women’s participation. The main domestic legal document for the waste sector is the Solid Waste Management Act of 2011. Gender considerations are only mentioned in terms of the balance (number of members) in some positions of the Solid Waste Management Council, which is the body responsible for formulating solid waste policy.

Waste management was and still is a significant challenge in Nepal. At present, landfills are at maximum

49 Gender and waste nexus