Comments on: Rubbish! http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html Life and Politics in Democratic Bhutan Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:16:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anonymous http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-323 Anonymous Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:15:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-323 i think a *think tank* be formed to tackle this waste problem. I would not yet go for infractures. although we have lot of waste in mamalakha and lot more coming...... NOT yet with the infracture. Buying of machines and putting here and there has been a sad story always... ex.<br/>look at the waste collected below express,, thimphu... I donot know when that project was started weather it is still running or any updates... may be we can learn some from that story.. who will tell those stories to the public. may be if that project was on loan.. than by now our debth might have been cleared to world bank or adb.but have we recovered our investments..I think those stories of the past trail need to be looked into by the policy maker and not hunt for fund to start new ones..... we always try to look for short term problem solving and not look at ther long term goal. <br/>Now the gov want to buy the incinerators.. may be the problem have be studies at the grond and look how we can solve the problem.<br/>I think if we have money, we can buy thoes hard ware anytime... so my idea is first educate the public, have campaign on how to tackle and not just cleaning campagn and dump the waste like we do every day.. make people aware of the facts of the waste and how to reduce it. and lot more, 3r concept. <br/>*well now the waste act is there, and our environmental officers in the town can fine her and there adn stop the waste production and make city cleen.It is easy to fine people and it is easy to pay by the people. and old saying "when one door closes other opens." if we donot educate our people and just fine them left and right.. they will have another door open... our people are smart. <br/>So my choise for atleast a year or more... we have to bare witht he production of waste but need to put things in place <br/>1. not to go with the hard ware now.<br/>2. first educate law makers, publics and think tankers etc...<br/>3. put in place the ways of making the 3r <br/>and than go with the hard ware..<br/>my estimate it will take 3 years to set up system and when it is there just buy the hard ware...... i think a *think tank* be formed to tackle this waste problem. I would not yet go for infractures. although we have lot of waste in mamalakha and lot more coming…… NOT yet with the infracture. Buying of machines and putting here and there has been a sad story always… ex.
look at the waste collected below express,, thimphu… I donot know when that project was started weather it is still running or any updates… may be we can learn some from that story.. who will tell those stories to the public. may be if that project was on loan.. than by now our debth might have been cleared to world bank or adb.but have we recovered our investments..I think those stories of the past trail need to be looked into by the policy maker and not hunt for fund to start new ones….. we always try to look for short term problem solving and not look at ther long term goal.
Now the gov want to buy the incinerators.. may be the problem have be studies at the grond and look how we can solve the problem.
I think if we have money, we can buy thoes hard ware anytime… so my idea is first educate the public, have campaign on how to tackle and not just cleaning campagn and dump the waste like we do every day.. make people aware of the facts of the waste and how to reduce it. and lot more, 3r concept.
*well now the waste act is there, and our environmental officers in the town can fine her and there adn stop the waste production and make city cleen.It is easy to fine people and it is easy to pay by the people. and old saying “when one door closes other opens.” if we donot educate our people and just fine them left and right.. they will have another door open… our people are smart.
So my choise for atleast a year or more… we have to bare witht he production of waste but need to put things in place
1. not to go with the hard ware now.
2. first educate law makers, publics and think tankers etc…
3. put in place the ways of making the 3r
and than go with the hard ware..
my estimate it will take 3 years to set up system and when it is there just buy the hard ware……

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-322 Anonymous Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:48:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-322 On plastice waste ban...<br/><br/>What i have notice till now is the ban on plastic bag and not actaullly on the ban of use of plastic.. so my first step it to see if we can really ban the use of plastic,(and it was not possible and it will not for sure) if not that can we use biodegradable plastics instead of other. although, it may be expansive but i think we can have subsidies on the use and sales of bioplastics and more taxes on the other plastics. that would mean the price of both would be almost the same. this will solve our costing problem.<br/><br/>But before these thing... has any one done any study on the amount of plastic waste being produced in area specific so that in case we think of reusing the plasctic than these are imp.. figs.. On plastice waste ban…

What i have notice till now is the ban on plastic bag and not actaullly on the ban of use of plastic.. so my first step it to see if we can really ban the use of plastic,(and it was not possible and it will not for sure) if not that can we use biodegradable plastics instead of other. although, it may be expansive but i think we can have subsidies on the use and sales of bioplastics and more taxes on the other plastics. that would mean the price of both would be almost the same. this will solve our costing problem.

But before these thing… has any one done any study on the amount of plastic waste being produced in area specific so that in case we think of reusing the plasctic than these are imp.. figs..

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-81 Anonymous Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:06:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-81 An incenerator to fry up all forms of wastes sounds a bit gaudy, but at the rate we Bhutanese are dirtying up our beloved land it looks like we will need a good number of these machines. Recyling isn't a pretty bad idea. <br/>But, Mr. Tshering, correct me if I 'm wrong because I do not at all support the outright ban of plastic bags. I am sure you will agree that this is the best form of a medium where we can stack in the home-wastes. But what the government has to think of is, how do we tackle the plastic wastes? Right now the government remains complacent because in their eyes they have banned the plastic bags and hence no further worries about it/them have to be endured. However, it's plastic everywhere!!!So answer me three questions Mr. Tshering, strictly just your opinion;<br/>1. Plastic ban in Bhutan is logical?<br/>2. If Incenerators were cheaper, would you go for that?<br/>3. Why are other cities cleaner than Bhutan, especially when we can boast of nothing worthwhile to produce to result into equivalent amount of wastes?<br/>I didn't vote for you, but I look at you with respect because you are someone I would love to vote for in the future. Happy New Year 2009.<br/>Sincerely. An incenerator to fry up all forms of wastes sounds a bit gaudy, but at the rate we Bhutanese are dirtying up our beloved land it looks like we will need a good number of these machines. Recyling isn’t a pretty bad idea.
But, Mr. Tshering, correct me if I ‘m wrong because I do not at all support the outright ban of plastic bags. I am sure you will agree that this is the best form of a medium where we can stack in the home-wastes. But what the government has to think of is, how do we tackle the plastic wastes? Right now the government remains complacent because in their eyes they have banned the plastic bags and hence no further worries about it/them have to be endured. However, it’s plastic everywhere!!!So answer me three questions Mr. Tshering, strictly just your opinion;
1. Plastic ban in Bhutan is logical?
2. If Incenerators were cheaper, would you go for that?
3. Why are other cities cleaner than Bhutan, especially when we can boast of nothing worthwhile to produce to result into equivalent amount of wastes?
I didn’t vote for you, but I look at you with respect because you are someone I would love to vote for in the future. Happy New Year 2009.
Sincerely.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-65 Anonymous Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:50:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-65 a very interesting topic...i really enjoyed reading it and i am so glad that there are so many people concerned over waste management.<br/><br/>i too believe that incinerators are not the best solution to the waste problems. yes they do remove waste but all along pollute the air. i think the best thing would be to encourage recycling (as all of the comments above ve suggested). i think the government should encourage everyone to have a recycling box at home (the pictures from the memelhakha landfill shows mainly recyclable waste) . people dont need to spend extra time sorting out their waste if they directly dispose them into the right boxes and i also think it would be great if the city corporation can take non-recyclable and recyclable waste separately.although there are some people who recycle, i think its high time everyone realizes the plus points and start recycling.<br/>and kudos tot eh opposition leader for bringing up such a good topic a very interesting topic…i really enjoyed reading it and i am so glad that there are so many people concerned over waste management.

i too believe that incinerators are not the best solution to the waste problems. yes they do remove waste but all along pollute the air. i think the best thing would be to encourage recycling (as all of the comments above ve suggested). i think the government should encourage everyone to have a recycling box at home (the pictures from the memelhakha landfill shows mainly recyclable waste) . people dont need to spend extra time sorting out their waste if they directly dispose them into the right boxes and i also think it would be great if the city corporation can take non-recyclable and recyclable waste separately.although there are some people who recycle, i think its high time everyone realizes the plus points and start recycling.
and kudos tot eh opposition leader for bringing up such a good topic

]]> By: gupdroep http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-50 gupdroep Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:26:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-50 "Cleanest capital in the world," indeed! Now here's a cause we can all support, but only if we use the right approach. Bringing in a giant incinerator will further remove garbage producers away from the stinking problem of waste overflow. People will continue to think that their waste disappears into a big black hole somewhere, and continue to be irresponsible for the waste they generate. After ten years are we going to get a bigger incinerator?<br/><br/>When we claim to be champions of GNH, why can we not take on the challenge of recycling (instead of dismissing it as not doable right away), and more importantly reducing waste overall. Certainly this calls for a major change in attitude. And EDUCATION.<br/><br/>We are a country of under a million people, we can get this right. It needs a comprehensive approach - the government and NGOs could strengthen the education and awareness part while subsidies could be given to the private sector to make waste management profitable. But we need to do all this with gusto. A workshop here, a study tour there is not going to work. Enough "officials" have done this. We need action, we need solutions. Now is when we need them to translate what they have learned on all those foreign junkets into action.<br/><br/>We should seriously think about generating less waste. We are proud to use non-materialistic Buddhism to define ourselves conveniently, but our actions show we are losing ourselves to material consumption. <br/><br/>C'mon, champions of GNH - we need leaders who can lead by example! “Cleanest capital in the world,” indeed! Now here’s a cause we can all support, but only if we use the right approach. Bringing in a giant incinerator will further remove garbage producers away from the stinking problem of waste overflow. People will continue to think that their waste disappears into a big black hole somewhere, and continue to be irresponsible for the waste they generate. After ten years are we going to get a bigger incinerator?

When we claim to be champions of GNH, why can we not take on the challenge of recycling (instead of dismissing it as not doable right away), and more importantly reducing waste overall. Certainly this calls for a major change in attitude. And EDUCATION.

We are a country of under a million people, we can get this right. It needs a comprehensive approach – the government and NGOs could strengthen the education and awareness part while subsidies could be given to the private sector to make waste management profitable. But we need to do all this with gusto. A workshop here, a study tour there is not going to work. Enough “officials” have done this. We need action, we need solutions. Now is when we need them to translate what they have learned on all those foreign junkets into action.

We should seriously think about generating less waste. We are proud to use non-materialistic Buddhism to define ourselves conveniently, but our actions show we are losing ourselves to material consumption.

C’mon, champions of GNH – we need leaders who can lead by example!

]]> By: tchoden http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-49 tchoden Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:29:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-49 I think making Thimphu the cleanest city by 2011 is very much possible. In fact i think making Bhutan the cleanest county is also very possible. I think an initiative like that should not only start in the capital but also in rest of the Dzongkhags. <br/>I am totally against PM's plan to bring in an incinerator. What is he thinking? I mean he is suppose to be the smartest man in our country right now and if he starts thinking everything for short-term, we have had it. I hope the government decides not to go ahead with this plan of buying the incinerator,its crazy. <br/>I support the idea of re-cyclying. I think making Thimphu the cleanest city by 2011 is very much possible. In fact i think making Bhutan the cleanest county is also very possible. I think an initiative like that should not only start in the capital but also in rest of the Dzongkhags.
I am totally against PM’s plan to bring in an incinerator. What is he thinking? I mean he is suppose to be the smartest man in our country right now and if he starts thinking everything for short-term, we have had it. I hope the government decides not to go ahead with this plan of buying the incinerator,its crazy.
I support the idea of re-cyclying.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-48 Anonymous Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:08:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-48 Collecting all the garbage and burning it all in an incinerator is a bad call. If only policy makers understood the technical details and implications of such an infrastructure, we would never have to see such a move being made by them. In developed countries which uses incinerators, the waste is generated in huge quantity and segregated at source. Memelakha has definitely raised enough awareness amongst the citizens but not enough to make the people do something about it themselves. <br/>We are the waste generators so we have to act responsibly if we love our city, country and our environment! Collecting all the garbage and burning it all in an incinerator is a bad call. If only policy makers understood the technical details and implications of such an infrastructure, we would never have to see such a move being made by them. In developed countries which uses incinerators, the waste is generated in huge quantity and segregated at source. Memelakha has definitely raised enough awareness amongst the citizens but not enough to make the people do something about it themselves.
We are the waste generators so we have to act responsibly if we love our city, country and our environment!

]]> By: karma http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-47 karma Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:07:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-47 Well...for me the option of recyling sounds so much simpler and sustainable than the incinerator. But i am shocked as to why our policy makers, concerned authorities and experts did not opt for this viable solution in the first place? Well…for me the option of recyling sounds so much simpler and sustainable than the incinerator. But i am shocked as to why our policy makers, concerned authorities and experts did not opt for this viable solution in the first place?

]]> By: Bhutanese Blogger http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-44 Bhutanese Blogger Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:42:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-44 It would help to remember the incinerator that was installed at the Thimphu cremation ground.. It would help to remember the incinerator that was installed at the Thimphu cremation ground..

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/nature/2008/rubbish.html#comment-40 Anonymous Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:42:00 +0000 http://www.tsheringtobgay.com/general/2008/rubbish.html#comment-40 I totally agree and would like to add some further food for thought<br/>Any ash that results from incineration still requires disposal..incomplete combustion results in dioxins and carbon monoxide contributing to global warming (which if we pretend we aren't affected will come right home when then next GLOF happens). the landfill at memelakha already has a serious problem of leachate and it seems so little information is available about the design and management of other thromde landfills who knows how much underground water is being polluted to return as unidentifiable illness in the population.<br/>Lets support DoA in reinvigorating the composting plant and making it functional before spending more millions on equipments that do not solve our problems.<br/>Let's encourage small private business who are interested in recycling e-waste and other waste, as the global economic downturn has already made an outside market for our waste unviable. I totally agree and would like to add some further food for thought
Any ash that results from incineration still requires disposal..incomplete combustion results in dioxins and carbon monoxide contributing to global warming (which if we pretend we aren’t affected will come right home when then next GLOF happens). the landfill at memelakha already has a serious problem of leachate and it seems so little information is available about the design and management of other thromde landfills who knows how much underground water is being polluted to return as unidentifiable illness in the population.
Lets support DoA in reinvigorating the composting plant and making it functional before spending more millions on equipments that do not solve our problems.
Let’s encourage small private business who are interested in recycling e-waste and other waste, as the global economic downturn has already made an outside market for our waste unviable.

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