Version 1
: Received: 12 September 2020 / Approved: 13 September 2020 / Online: 13 September 2020 (23:54:22 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 23 June 2021 / Approved: 23 June 2021 / Online: 23 June 2021 (11:39:27 CEST)
How to cite:
Adhikari, B.; Koirala, S.; Khadka, N.; Koirala, N. Solid Waste Management Practices and Challenges in Seven Cities of Nepal Before and During Lockdown Against COVID-19 Pandemic. Preprints2020, 2020090304. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0304.v2
Adhikari, B.; Koirala, S.; Khadka, N.; Koirala, N. Solid Waste Management Practices and Challenges in Seven Cities of Nepal Before and During Lockdown Against COVID-19 Pandemic. Preprints 2020, 2020090304. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0304.v2
Adhikari, B.; Koirala, S.; Khadka, N.; Koirala, N. Solid Waste Management Practices and Challenges in Seven Cities of Nepal Before and During Lockdown Against COVID-19 Pandemic. Preprints2020, 2020090304. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0304.v2
APA Style
Adhikari, B., Koirala, S., Khadka, N., & Koirala, N. (2021). Solid Waste Management Practices and Challenges in Seven Cities of Nepal Before and During Lockdown Against COVID-19 Pandemic. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0304.v2
Chicago/Turabian Style
Adhikari, B., Nitesh Khadka and Nitesh Koirala. 2021 "Solid Waste Management Practices and Challenges in Seven Cities of Nepal Before and During Lockdown Against COVID-19 Pandemic" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202009.0304.v2
Abstract
The nationwide lockdown imposed to control the spread of novel coronavirus induced dramatic alterations in different sectors of the Nepalese governance, including Solid Waste Management (SWM) practices. The study identifies SW collection gaps in seven major cities of Nepal and highlights the municipal and public households on SW management practices before and during the lockdown to emphasize the linkage between COVID-19 and SWM. It includes information on solid waste status, collection frequency and coverage, workers safety practices, types of vehicles operated for collection and alternative methods adopted by households to manage SW during the lockdown. For this, 1329 households survey and key informant interviews were conducted in seven cities of Nepal during the lockdown. It was found that although the coverage of the collection service was similar during the pandemic, there was a drastic decrease in the collection frequency leading to a collection gap of around 570 tons/day. More than 50% of the surveyed households adopted no proper alternative measures as they claimed that they stored solid waste with proper management so that municipal authorities can take it. The study reveals poor occupational health and safety practices among the solid waste workers due to the unavailability of safety gears and equipment despite being aware of the modes of transmission of the virus. The pandemic exacerbated the challenges of smooth SWM as it is an essential and needy service. This study highlights the need for a timely strategic management framework to be developed by the government to continue the smooth SWM practices during the lockdown.
Keywords
COVID-19; waste generation; waste collection; gap assessment; emergency plans
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science and Meteorology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Commenter: Saroj Koirala
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author