For my final year thesis work, my friend and I decided to work on solid waste management techniques, which gave me the opportunity to observe and work with the waste workers who have been working for years in this field. We collected waste from Lalitpur Metropolitan City’s transfer station in Balkumari and had to segregate the waste into organic and inorganic waste. In the scorching sun, wearing two pairs of gloves, masks, and plastic covering our feet, we started separating the huge pile of waste, and within an hour we realized that it was very naive of us to have thought that we could separate 1000 kg of waste ourselves. We felt horrible; it was unhygienic, and it felt like an impossible task.
Within 2-3 hours of working to separate the waste, our bodies gave up, so the next day we decided to call two waste workers to help us with the task. Two young guys, probably in their early 20s, just like us, came in with their cycles. We were there wearing raincoats, gloves, and masks covering every part of our bodies, and on the other hand, there they were in their everyday clothes, barefoot, and uncovered, separating the waste.
It was us who provided them with masks and gloves, because it seemed strange to us that they were ready to just do it without any precautions. They were also quite amused that students like us were ready to separate waste along with them and laughed at us for wearing all those raincoats and covering ourselves fully so that waste could not touch any part of our bodies. I started a conversation with them and asked them how they got into this sector and how long they had been doing it. These two men came from the borders of Nepal and had been working in the field of waste for more than 10 years. When I asked if they found it important to protect themselves with gloves, they said it was already a habit; they did wear the self-protection kits during COVID, but now it's just back to normal.
From this conversation, I developed so much respect for these men and for all those waste workers who work unprotected every day to maintain a waste-free community for us while risking their own health. This is not just the story of these two young men; it’s the story of thousands of people working in this field, risking their health, and not getting enough respect from society.
According to the World Bank, the waste management sector in Nepal employs approximately 35,000 people, including waste pickers, waste transporters, and staff at waste treatment and disposal facilities. The issues faced by solid waste workers in Nepal are numerous, including low pay, inadequate safety gear, and restricted access to healthcare. They are exposed to a variety of health concerns, including as respiratory illnesses, skin infections, and other issues since they operate in dangerous and unhygienic environments. It is very important to take a step towards making their lives easier , respectful and healthier since if not for them we don’t know what the situation of waste in our communities would be like .
