Kathmandu, September 16, 2018: World Cleanup Day was celebrated successfully by148 groups on September 15, 2018, in 25 districts throughout Nepal by organizing cleanup and awareness activities to combat the ever-growing problem of littering, illegal waste dumping and burning in Nepal.
Clean up Nepal estimates that 28, 796 people participated during the World Cleanup Day 2018 picking up 396 tons of garbage across 340 dumping and littering sites in Nepal. Among these groups were local governments, community groups, educational institutions and local organizations who took ownership of the issues arising from waste and embraced the slogan, “Hamro Fohor, Hamro Jimmewari”.
The event was centrally inaugurated at Patan Durbar Square by the Australian Ambassador to Nepal, His Excellency Mr. Peter Budd, Tirza Theunissen from The Asia Foundation, and Mr. Pradeep Amatya, Chief of Lalitpur Metropolitan City – Environment Management Department who collectively acknowledged that illegal waste dumping and burning have been a major concern along with the ongoing landfill issues.
In his opening remarks, the Australian Ambassador to Nepal, His Excellency Mr. Peter Budd said, “It is very encouraging to see local organizations and local governments collaborate and take such initiatives for the environment”. The inauguration followed theatre arts and World Cleanup Day rally to inspire the public to own responsibility concerning the problems of waste and assist local governments while they are working to establish an integrated waste management system.
