Waste Problems in Bhutan
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” ― Mahatma Gandhi. In Bhutan, it is not uncommon to see ugly sight of garbage dumped on the roadside, solid waste thrown away at river banks, and landfills amassed with huge amount of rubbish. It is becoming more and more difficult for municipalities to manage solid waste in an efficient manner as urbanization and population has both increased. Thirty years ago, it was not a big issue as Bhutan had no more than 600,000 people and more than half of the population lived in rural areas. Bhutanese imported few goods from the neighboring countries, mainly India. They produced almost everything in their own country, such as: milk, cheese, butter, rice, meat, wool, cotton, etc. But in recent years, Bhutanese's consumption pattern has changed and people started to import a large number of goods, spending billions of Ngultrum. Because of this continuous trend,