Every ripple starts with a drop

RiPL (Preventing plastic in Nepal rivers by strengthening the informal sector) is a project funded by Norway’s Handelensmiljofond with partners GRID-Arendal, NGI, Doko Recyclers, CREASION, and ISWA. As the project progresses through its final year, we’re looking back over its activities and accomplishments making ripples through the rivers around Kathmandu.

The official launch of the project took place on 23 May 2022 in Kathmandu. It included a plenary session with 6 speakers, focusing on problems faced by the municipalities in waste management and inclusion of waste workers. The event was covered by 10 media groups and sparked interest domestically.

Attendees included representatives from Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment, the Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal, Eco Foundation Nepal, UNDP Accelerator Lab, WIEGO, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Metropolitan City.

RiPL conducted a plastic river mapping from 3 survey sites in Manohara river (Pepsicola town planning area), Hanumante River, and Bagmati river in order to understand the composition and abundance of different types of plastic and non-plastic waste. 46% of material collected were plastics, the remaining 54% were non-plastics that included glass, metal, cloth, and landfill waste. 23% of plastics were considered “easy to recycle”, primarily Polyethylene terephthalate and High-density Polyethylene. 77% of plastics were considered “hard to recycle”, such as Nylon, Expanded Polystyrene, Low-density Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Tetra Pak.

Workshop and questionnaire survey of 10 Informal Waste in Tikathali, Lalitpur Metropolitan City identified some of the challenges, aiding the development of an action plan for strengthening the capacity of women in the informal waste sector. Major challenges identified included health and safety issues at work, social discrimination, and lower wages. Women and minorities are more vulnerable to inequality and occupational safety risks. Mothers may need to bring their children to the workplace due to lack of childcare and support. More women were employed by the scrap center for the sorting of plastics, as were seen as more efficient. As a result, the action plan includes increasing wages of women waste workers, creating a proper workplace, improvement of personal health, and providing training.

33 Informal Waste Workers from across Kathmandu Valley participated in this workshop to identify the work challenges faced by informal waste workers. The workshop was divided into 3 sessions: group discussion, group presentations, and sharing experiences. The focus was on exploring the waste stream and gauging interest of waste workers in forming a waste-based enterprise, and identifying the major livelihood challenges faced by waste workers along with gender in the sector. Common challenges were health, wages, sanitation, childcare, menstruation, social discrimination, frequent injuries, and lack of safety equipment.

The Dallu Hub is the first of two waste management and recycling centers set up by the RiPL project. Staff are trained on a wide spectrum of topics, including safety procedures, behavioural training, proper use of personal protective equipment and fire extinguishers, and waste sorting techniques. Through surveys, RiPL gained a deeper understanding of waste composition, client preferences, and the local community’s response to the project. This allowed for informed decision-making for the next phases of the project. The inauguration event was attended by representatives from Doko Recyclers, CREASION, and SASAJA.

Samyukta Safai Jagaran (SASAJA) is the first organisation for waste workers in Nepal. The organisation brings together nearly 1000 members from the informal waste worker community with the aim to work on rights and welfare. SASAJA helped identify and secure a suitable location for the Dallu hub in Kathmandu. Doko Recyclers have worked on a Memorandum Of Understanding with SASAJA to solidify the partnership and align goals with the RiPL project.

A 4 day training workshop with 19 women from different working areas (picking, sorting, machinery operation) organised in Latipur. Led by CREASION with input from Doko Recyclers, GRID-Arendal, and ISWA, the workshop aimed to enhance occupational health and safety, business skills, and advance enterprise capabilities. Each day was divided into group discussions, presentations, and experience-sharing sessions. Participants shared that it was a great opportunity for them to learn more about their sector, and were enthusiastic about the rights and benefits that they weren’t aware of. They were also taught how to open their own bank accounts for savings and claiming insurance.

Training sessions and workshops with Dr. Anne Scheinberg from ISWA about various aspects of importance for RiPL’s implementation. During the first half of the year, there was a focus on internal training and discussions about how to best include the informal waste sector when making decisions for the project. The activities in the project were reassessed to consider whether they would be welcomed or useful for informal workers in the waste sector. Once completed, the focus has shifted to get collection centers up and running, planning the pilot facility, and planning training for women in the centers.

Through this visit, RiPL gained deeper insights into work processes, assessing current practices and need for training and resources. Most Informal Waste Workers have acquired their skills through practical experience rather than formal training. Women are willing to learn how to drive electric carts for waste transportation. The Informal Waste Workers suggested the new RiPL hub consists of 2 rooms: one for storage, and one for waste segregation and collection. This visit inspired Doko Recyclers to initiate training programs in their own premises, ensuring hub operation is effective and staff are well prepared.

RiPL (Preventing plastic in Nepal rivers by strengthening the informal sector) is a project funded by Norway’s Handelensmiljofond to prevent plastic in Nepal rivers by strengthening the informal sector, with partners GRID-Arendal, NGI, Doko Recyclers, CREASION, and ISWA.

As the population of Kathmandu increases, plastic usage and thereby waste generation is also growing. Approaches to managing waste in the capital include unorganized dumping and open burning. On average, 48% of the waste in municipalities is landfilled, while 32% is burnt, and 27% is openly dumped on riversides. This project will set up plastic collection points along rivers and make use of it, intercepting it at the source. The informal sector plays a crucial role in waste management for Nepal. Informal waste workers range from collectors to waste pickers and scrap dealers. Many of the estimated 10,000–15,000 waste pickers working in Kathmandu Valley are women, but they are among the most marginalised. There is an enormous untapped potential to increase the capture of plastic by increasing the capacity of the informal waste sector, especially women.

The project activities are:

• Identifying the main sources of plastic entering rivers in Kathmandu Valley;
• Mapping the challenges that Informal Waste Workers are facing;
• Increasing the recyclability and value of plastics;
• Building the capacity of women in the informal waste sector;
• Communicating and raising awareness on the ability of women informal waste workers to reduce plastics.

This project is financed by The Norwegian Retailers’ Environment Fund under grant agreement 12439.