Since a week period, Nepal’s social media and its fans have been busy on the mission of cleanliness.

The world-wide viral activity titled #Trashtag challenge has been drawing huge attention from the Nepali audience, especially the youth in social media with the sole agenda of ‘Clean Nepal’.

This viral post includes two photos, one with an open space full of trash and the other of the same space cleaned up completely!

The #Trashtag Challenge in Nepal!

#Trashtag in Nepal began with KP Khanal, a social worker and activist, sharing his story of a ‘clean-up drive’ conducted at the New Bus Park in Gongabu with five of his friends!

Khanal tagged his social media post under #trashtag!

Khanal’s post grabbed the attention of a popular Nepali Facebook page ‘Routine of Nepal Banda’ on March 10, 2019. And, that’s when the #trashtag challenge took a different turn drawing more than 19,000 likes and 300+ shares from the page.

Then it went on viral among other groups and pages to finally becoming viral among Nepali youth!

“We started the clean-up at night so as not to disturb people’s movement and because it’s a very busy place, we were unable to take the ‘before’ picture. But I am happy that many youths from across the country have taken on the challenge,” said 19-year-old Khanal, who is pursuing Bachelor’s in Social Work at Texas International College in Mitrapark.

“This is a great initiative. We have been requesting people not to throw trash here, even fining them Rs 1,000, but it hasn’t worked,” says Puspa Kumari Mishra, an Army ranger.

Another group of MBBS students from Bhaktapur also participated in the challenge on March 13, 2019.

“We have conducted numerous such cleaning campaigns but we were not able to get more youth involved. But when we did it as part of the #trashtag challenge, many young people have shown interest,” said Nabin Bhandari, one of the challenge campaigners.

Bishu Tamang, a city tour guide, called on all the Nepali youth to take up this activity with motivation.

“We have long been blaming government authorities, but we do not take initiative for change,” he said. “This challenge is motivating youths because they are cleaning up and are appreciated publicly,” Tamang said in a statement.

Not the First Time!

This is not the first time that Nepal has adopted such trend!

The #FillTheBucket challenge was one in the same line that Nepalis actively took part in 2014 by collecting a bucketful of essentials in support of flood and landslide victims in West Nepal.

The #trashtag challenge has been around since 2015 but went on to become viral months ago after a user post on Redditt that displayed a clean-up picture!

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Citing to plastic waste management as a ‘global crisis’, Earth Day Network (a non-profit organization that conducts the Earth Day every year) informed that the World Earth Day 2018 is focused on ways to end plastic pollution globally.

A wide variety of events have been held across the world commemorating the World Earth Day 2018 with some of them being Green Room Festival 2018 by Japan, Billion Acts of Green by China, No-Plastic by Indian State of Karnataka, #StirCrazy Earth Day by Romania and the UK and Earth Day by the Bay in San Fransisco, among various others.

“There is a growing tidal wave of interest in ending plastic pollution and some countries and governments are already in the vanguard. Earth Day Network believes we can turn that tidal wave into a permanent solution to plastics pollution,” Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers said in a statement.

Case of Nepal

Like many other countries, Nepal has been striving for a clean and safe environment.

Towards this goal, the country and its citizens have been coming up with many eco-friendly initiatives including clean up campaigns, waste management programs, among various others.

#PollutionControl : Towards controlling vehicular pollution, the Government of Nepal has called for a ban on old vehicles aging more than 20 years.

#HornFreeWorld : Riding on the success of the horn-ban policy in its capital city Kathmandu, Nepal is also striving for achieving horn-free nation status through a serious implementation of the policy across the nation.

The policy’s success in Kathmandu was also referred to as a real-time example for efficient public-policy collaboration in Nepal. 

“In the entire South Asian region, this is one of the most successful initiatives by the traffic police. This is our pride. Now if you blow the horn, people will look at you just like in a developed country, as if you were uncivilized,” says Sudan Silwal, a senior police officer from Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police (KMTP) department.

#GreenVehicles : Another interesting initiative of Nepal is the pitch for usage of green vehicles or electric vehicles run by alternative energy sources such as electricity, solar or biofuel, among others. The country is looking at a full-fledged transition to the usage of green vehicles or Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the next 10 years.

“With the right policies in place, we can achieve complete transition in 10 years,” says Nepal’s former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal, who also opines that Nepal’s transition to EVs will be faster than that of India.

#CleanEnergy : There is a growing trend of adopting clean energy solutions in Nepal. As a country with good water resources, Nepal is already riding high on its hydropower and is also ramping up efforts for full-fledged harnessing of alternative energy solutions like wind, solar, bio-fuel, among others.

#WasteManagement : With wide variety of activities, Nepal has always been effectively for waste management and has also set few classic examples like Dhankuta for effective waste management. The country has always been active in tackling waste management through mega clean-up campaigns for cleaning up tons of debris across all levels.

#CleanAir : Very recently, a Nepal-based private firm in collaboration with the US Embassy in Kathmandu has come up with an app called Safa Hawa for keeping a continuous check on air pollution and ensure clean air and environment to its citizens.

#PlasticFree : Nepal has also been taking various initiatives for a plastic-free environment. In 2011, the Nepali Ministry of Science Technology and Environment came up with the Plastic Bags Control and Regulation Directive prohibiting the import, storage, manufacture, sale and use of plastic bags less than 30 microns.

Likewise, Nepal has taken many such initiatives for safe and clean environment, and there the country also has various organisations working for such eco-friendly initiatives.

Plastic Haunts the Globe!

Research studies show alarming results about plastic pollution, globally.

A 2015 study by a team of environmentalists led by Environmental Engineer at the University of Georgia Jenna Jambeck found an estimated 275 million metric tons of plastic waste in 192 coastal countries as of 2010, with 4.8-12.7 million metric tons of that directly moving into the ocean.

A Washington DC based non-profit media house, in its research, also saw some astonishing results. It was shocked to find that 93 percent of bottled water sampled from nine countries and 94 percent of drinking water in the United States contained chemically-toxic plastic particles with many of those linked to major health diseases.

Action Plan

“Plastic pollution is now an ever-present challenge. We can see plastics floating in our rivers, ocean and lagoons, littering our landscapes and affecting our health and the future of billions of children and youth. We have all contributed to this problem –- mostly unknowingly,” Valeria Merino, Vice-President of Global Earth Day at Earth Day Network, said in a statement.

Speaking about further action plan, Rogers said, “This year, Earth Day Network will mobilize its global network of non-governmental organizations and grassroots groups as well as local elected officials, faith leaders, artists, athletes, students and teachers to build a world of educated consumers, voters and activists of all ages who understand the environmental, climate and health consequences of using plastic.”

Where it Started?

First celebrated in 1970, the World Earth Day emerged at the time when the pollution from industries was still legal and there were hardly any laws for environment protection.

Kickstarting the first World Earth Day celebration on April 22, 1970, the then US Senator Gaylord Nelson took ahead the initiative across the nation, which eventually resulted in the inception of the today’s renowned regulatory body for environment protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Continuing with the pace, the Earth Day program went on further mobilizing millions across the world for fight against environmental issues on a global platform.

According to the Earth Day Network, around 1 billion people from 192 countries take part in the World Earth Day every year.

Let’s pledge for a plastic-free world! #PlasticFreeWorld

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The US Ambassador to Nepal Alaina B Teplitz and the Department of Environment (DoE) Director General Durga Prasad Dawadi launched the app at a function held in Kathmandu on March 29, 2018.

Speaking on the occasion, Teplitz said, “Our goal is for the Safa Hawa app and the information that it makes available to help reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution and strengthen Nepal’s capacity to manage national health risks.”

The app, which also contributes to Digital Nepal initiative, was jointly developed by Bidhee Pvt Ltd. and the US Embassy in Kathmandu. It is available for free in both iOS and Android versions.

Key Areas That Need Attention

In her address at the launch event, Teplitz raised air pollution concerns in Nepal citing the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) findings by the Yale University and Columbia University released in January 2018.

EPI 2018 had termed Nepal as the country with the highest air quality concerns among 180 countries.

The Nepal Academy of Science and Technology records show as many as 35,000 deaths due to air pollution in Nepal, every year. 

 “Globally, air pollution is one of the leading risk factors for disease.  Experts say that over 7 million deaths can be attributed to air pollution every year. As we all know, many countries in South Asia, including Nepal, struggle with severe air pollution issues which impact the health and well-being of local populations,” says Teplitz.

Teplitz pointed out that the air pollution, especially in Kathmandu, could affect potential international investors’ willingness to invest in business and tourism, among other sectors of Nepal.

“From a very practical point, Kathmandu presents a very challenging aviation environment, given its terrain and congested airport.  As pollution increases in Kathmandu Valley, visibility is limited, leading to more delays for aircraft approaching Tribhuvan International Airport,” said Teplitz.

Safa Hawa, A Savior

According to the US Ambassador Teplitz, solutions such as installation of air filters, new manufacturing processes, timely recycling of wastage and data-informed policies can address Nepal’s air pollution concerns to some extent.

“We can halt the burning of garbage and plastics in our neighborhood and plant trees. The government can control vehicle emissions and business can change their processes as well as develop solutions to environmental issues,” she adds.

As part of its contribution, the US Embassy in Kathmandu had set up two Air Quality Monitors in Kathmandu in the Embassy grounds and at Fohora Durbar in Kathmandu’s central Thamel area, which provide real-time data on air pollution for both PM 2.5 particles and ozone.

Now, Safa Hawa will retrieve information recorded by two air-quality monitoring stations, informed Teplitz, while hoping that the app will contribute to a healthier Kathmandu.

She also hoped that the app information will also help the government in its efforts towards addressing air pollution concerns in the country, especially in the Valley.

“We hope this knowledge would spread awareness, and that breathers – and policy-makers – can use this information to push for changes in policy that will make communities cleaner and healthier,” read her statement.

Durga Prasad also hoped that Safa Hawa would soon disseminate the data collected by all the ten air-quality monitoring systems operating across the country.

The app, available in both English and Nepali languages, sends hourly notifications to the user on air-quality and also sends out health tips on a regular basis, say the developers.

For Clean Environment

Nepal has welcomed many such initiatives and campaigns to ensure a clean environment for its citizens.

Some of such key initiatives include measures to tackle climate change, introduction of horn-ban policy, promotion of green energy solutions, Everest Clean-up Campaign 2018, call for ban on old vehicles and effective waste management solutions, among others.

Also Read:
        1. Nepal For Clean Energy Solutions, Bets Big on Hydropower

        2. Tidy Nepal: Waste Management a Norm in Nepal, Dhankuta An Inspiration

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Through this move, Nepal aims to control pollution, ease traffic movement and address other concerns caused by the old and poorly-maintained vehicles, to ensure a clean environment.

As part of the measures, the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) has already issued orders to seize the vehicles falling under this category and cancel the driving licenses and permits of the vehicle owners.

“Traffic police will seize old vehicles seen plying the roads. DoTM has already informed traffic police to seize the license of drivers behind the wheel of such vehicles and impound the vehicles,” informed DoTM Director General Rupnarayan Bhattrai.

A decision in this regard roots back to January 2015.

Though the Cabinet called for a similar policy suggesting ban on old vehicles in February 2017 within the Kathmandu Valley, the rule did not see its real implementation owing to various reasons.

However, DoTM vows to a full-fledged enforcement this time.

“Maybe they are being used outside the Valley, but this time around we will enforce stringent measures all over the country,” adds Bhattarai.

According to the DoTM estimates, there are around 10,000 such vehicles across the country with 5,500 in Kathmandu alone.

Transport Owners Disagree

Various transport owners operating across the country feel that the new decision will hurt their business badly.

Terming this as unscientific, the transport associations and operators are calling for a roll-back of this decision.

Condemning the rule, Saroj Sitaula, General Secretary of the Federation of Nepali National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNNTE), said the new decision lacks proper planning and will affect the public owning second-hand vehicles.

“We were not consulted before the authorities took the decision. They don’t have any plan on what to do with the vehicles,” says Dharma Rimal, another FNNTE official.

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 “We are working very hard to bring in electric vehicles in Nepal. We don’t have a timeline. To some extent, we are constrained by the availability of charging facilities. But a Tata EV will be available on the streets of Nepal soon,” Sujan Roy, Head of Passenger Vehicles (International), Tata Motors said in a statement.

Making an official announcement in this regard, Roy said they are considering this move as a social responsibility.

“We have the vehicles being manufactured at our plant every day, we would be happy to bring them to Nepal. Yes, the concessions available on EVs are attractive, but we consider it as a social responsibility to bring EVs to Nepal,” he added.

Explaining on pricing strategy, Roy further explained that the prices will come down gradually with the advent of technologies.

“I would say that the tipping point in the EV market will soon be reached and electric cars will be as ubiquitous as mobile phones,” noted Roy.

It is noteworthy here that Tata has recently released its first batch of the EV model of its Sedan Tata Tigor in Gujarat, India.

Upon implementation, Tata would compete with the likes of BYD, Mahindra and KIA which have already come up with similar initiatives for Nepal.

This move comes an encouragement to the Nepal Government that has been pitching for clean energy solutions as part of eco-friendly policies.

EVs, Energy Security for Nepal

“EVs will provide a measure of energy security for Nepal. As of now, the price of oil affects us in many ways, but when we switch to electric, the situation will be different,” says Nepal’s former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal.

In line with Roy’s official aforementioned statement, proper standards that support full-fledged operation of EVs and lack of sufficient number of charging stations continue to exist as prime reasons limiting EV adoption in Nepal.

According to Khanal, Nepal Government is yet to come up with the relevant standards to give needed boost to EV implementation across the country.

Challenges aside, finally Clean Nepal is on the way!

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This eventually created a dire need for waste management, globally, and resulted in high demand for various waste management techniques to recycle the waste into different useful forms.

This is the trend we have been observing over the years across municipalities, corporations, cities, among others.

While some countries have already come up with innovative waste management solutions, some are underway in their efforts, and some have just begun.

Nepal stands no exception!

As a country with huge natural resource base, waste management and eco-friendly solutions mean a lot for Nepal.

Towards this end, Nepal has been undertaking various measures to tackle waste management to ensure a clean country for its citizens, and has also witnessed revenue generation across sectors from such initiatives.

Let’s take a deep dive into such instances that contributed to Tidy Nepal!

Clean-up Campaigns for a Cause

When it comes to Nepal, the country’s capital Kathmandu is most spoken about in terms of pollution and congestion.

 “Foreigners and also Nepalis living abroad are reluctant to come to Kathmandu as the city has become overly polluted. Anyone can fall sick if exposed to the dusty environment here just for a few days. The metropolis and the government should immediately come forward to resolve the issue of air pollution,” says Nepal’s renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Bhagwan Koirala.

Over the years, authorities and public have been working hand-in-hand to address the pollution and waste concerns in the Kathmandu Valley.

Here are some of the recent campaigns undertaken in Nepal:

Mega Campaigns: Very recently in the third week of February 2018, around 31 Metric Tons (MT) of solid waste has been extracted from the Valley as part of various clean-up campaigns including Bagmati Clean-up Mega Campaign, Guheshwari Bagmati-up Campaign, Rudramati Clean-up Campaign, Bishnumati Clean-up Campaign and Ring Road Clean-up Campaign.

Interestingly, people from all of walks of life including general public, Nepal Army, Nepal Police and various other government departments took part in the clean-up drives that have been underway since more than four years.

Swachchha Hawa: Hundreds of public including students, activists, environmentalists and health experts took part in another public campaign called ‘Swachchha Hawa’ that highlighted air quality concerns and demanded clean air in the Valley.

“We have gathered here voluntarily to mount pressure on the government. While the government does something to deal with air pollution, we should not forget our responsibility towards keeping environment safe and clean,” said campaign coordinator Dipak Raj Sapkota speaking on the sidelines of the ‘Swachchha Hawa’ campaign.

Nepali Environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar says, “Such initiative has yielded positive results in the past. Nearly 15 years ago, when the public in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur rallied demanding action for controlling air pollution, the local authorities took certain measures which helped bring the air pollution levels down by up to 26 percent. We are demanding nothing but clean air to breathe.”

Our Waste Our Responsibility: Clean Up Nepal and Australian Embassy in Nepal jointly organized a nation-wide campaign across 31 districts of the country with the participation of around 24,000 Nepalis.

The campaign run under the slogan ‘our waste, our responsibility’ saw all sections of Nepali society including individuals belonging to different areas, communities and organizations, was aimed at cleaning of rivers, lakes, streets and public places.

This annual drive was part of the global-level ‘Clean Up the World’ campaign and involved 15,000 volunteers in 2013 and had mobilized over 100,000 people as of 2013 resulting in collection of 520,000 kilos of waste at 350 locations in 36 districts throughout Nepal.

Football for Garbage: Khotang’s Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality Ward No 11 has come up with an innovative idea as part of its sanitation campaign. The Ward officials announced a football for the garbage collectors for every five kilogram of garbage collected, which drew huge attention among the local youth. “Football for garbage campaign will continue till the ward gets rid of all old garbage,” says the Ward Chairperson Ramchandra Rai.

Clean-up Mount Everest:

Leaving no stone unturned, mountaineering expedition organizers had also called for a campaign to clean-up the garbage on Mount Everest in March 2017.

As part of this activity, the organizers sent garbage-collection bags along with climbers to collect the trash on Mount Everest, which was collected back to the base camp through helicopters. Hundreds of climbers and their associated guides expressed their willingness for this expedition.

Success Stories: Dhankuta, A Model Village

According to the World Bank 2015 report, Nepal’s cities account to 7 lakh tons of waste annually, of which, 50 percent is collected and the remaining left as dumps.

Though the solid waste management can hold 50 percent of a municipality’s annual budget, most of them are hardly seeing any revenues through such services. 

Hold on! Dhankuta is an exception!

Setting a role model for the entire country, Nepal’s Dhankuta municipality emerged as Nepal’s cleanest city.

Dhankuta garnered the award in the annual contest put forth by the Government of Nepal’s Solid Waste Management Technical Support Center (SWMTC).

“We were not so particular about cleanliness up until about a decade ago. Like so many towns in the country, residents littered plastic everywhere. It choked our drains and was such an eye-sore,” says Lal Chandra Gongba Tamang, former President of the Dhankuta chapter of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI).

That was in 2009, the locals of Dhankuta felt the need to get away with the concerns the municipality is facing with the disposal of waste. Eventually, the locals installed a landfill in Salleri at across a large area of 30 ropanis at Rs 40 million budget.

This landfill assures the municipality handling of 10 tons of waste per day for around 25 years. Moving ahead with this encouragement, Dhankuta finally became ‘plastic-free’.

The municipality today has an efficient waste management system involving 16 sanitation workers focused on ensuring cleanliness across all wards of the municipality on a regular basis, among others.

The locals have gone ahead implementing effective recycling methodologies, wherein, households are well-trained in segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, and usually reutilize biodegradables as manure or cattle feed. This can eventually cut-down the waste produced in the municipality easing the landfill load.

End result, the municipality has a wonderful garden built on the top of the buried waste! Besides cleanliness, the municipality has also been generating huge revenues through its tidy policies.

Stunning right? Yes, the locals claim that the ‘matter of pride’. Not just for the locals, the municipality stands as an inspiration and a model village to thousands outside the municipality.

Call To Action:

You might also have come across such inspiring stories that inspired millions. So, what are you waiting for? Nepali Sansar welcomes yours contribution for such stunning stories. Come on, Contribute and Collaborate! at newsbureau@nepalisansar.com

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