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Waste guide

Find the right place for anything you throw away, test yourself, see where your waste ends up and work out how much your household makes.

Which bin? Print the kitchen poster
Which bin?

Look up any item

Type what you are throwing away, in English or Nepali, and see where it goes.

Degradable

Waste that rots

Food and anything from plants or animals that rots. Keep it in its own bucket — it becomes compost.

Collected twice a week

  • Vegetable peels and scraps
  • Fruit peels and cores
  • Leftover food — rice, dal, curry, roti
  • Used tea leaves and tea bagsPull the staple out of tea bags first.
  • Used coffee grounds
  • Egg shellsCrush them so they compost faster.
  • Flowers, garlands and puja offeringsTake off plastic, foil and threads first.
  • Leaf plates and bowls (tapari, duna)
  • Leaves, grass and garden trimmings
  • Onion and garlic skins
  • Corn cobs and husks
  • Peanut, nut and coconut shellsHard shells take longer to rot; break them up.
  • Used tissues and paper napkinsDirty or greasy paper cannot be recycled, but it does rot.
  • Bones, meat and fish scrapsThese go with degradable waste. In a home compost bin use only small amounts, as they attract animals.
  • Spoiled or mouldy food (out of its packet)
  • Cow dung
  • Sawdust and cold wood ashOnly cold ash, a little at a time.

Non-degradable

Waste that does not rot

Plastic, paper, glass, metal, cloth and rubber. Keep it clean and dry — much of it can be recycled.

Collected once a week

  • Plastic bagsShake them clean and keep them dry.
  • Plastic bottles and containersEmpty, rinse and squash them.
  • Noodle, chips and biscuit wrappers
  • Milk and curd pouchesRinse them first so they do not smell.
  • Newspaper, notebooks and office paperKeep it dry — clean paper is made into new paper at our Gokarna plant.
  • Cardboard boxesFlatten them.
  • Juice and milk cartons (Tetra Pak)
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Broken glass and mirrorsWrap it in thick paper and mark it, so collectors do not get cut.
  • Tins, cans, foil and metal
  • Old clothes, bags and shoesGive away anything that can still be worn.
  • Rubber and slippers
  • Thermocol (styrofoam) plates and packing foam
  • Plastic cups, plates and straws
  • Sanitary pads and diapersWrap them in paper or a bag first.
  • Face masks and glovesWrap them in paper or a bag first.
  • Broken cups, plates, clay pots and diyoWrap sharp pieces.
  • Burnt-out firecrackersSoak them in a bucket of water overnight, then let them dry.
  • Toothbrushes, pens and small plastic items
  • Cigarette buttsMake sure they are fully out.

Keep separate

Hazardous waste

Not with either kind. Store it safely in its own box or bag, out of children’s reach, and never burn it.

Ask us how to hand it over

  • Batteries and cellsKeep them in a closed box; never burn or bury them.
  • Mobile phones, chargers and electronicsGive them to e-waste recyclers or repair shops.
  • CFL bulbs and tube lightsThey contain mercury — do not break them.
  • Expired medicinesKeep them in their packets; never pour them into drains.
  • Needles, syringes and bladesPut them in a hard bottle with a lid and label it.
  • Paint, pesticide and chemical containersClose them tightly; never pour leftovers into drains.
  • Spray cansDo not puncture or burn them.
  • Mercury thermometers
Sorting challenge

How well do you sort?

After collection

Where your waste goes

Sorting at home decides what your waste can become. Here is what happens after our vehicle collects it.

Degradable

  1. Collected on its own days, twice a week.
  2. Turned into compost using the pile method.
  3. Sold to farmers at an affordable price, and used for roadside plants and organic vegetables.

Becomes compost

Non-degradable

  1. Collected once a week and taken to the transfer station.
  2. Salable items are sorted out. Paper becomes recycled paper at our Gokarna plant; plastic becomes pipes at the Balaju plant.
  3. Only what cannot be reused goes to the Bancharedanda landfill in Nuwakot.

Becomes paper and pipes

Keep separate

  1. Kept apart at home in a closed box or bottle.
  2. Handed over separately. Call your nearest office to ask how.
  3. Never burnt, buried or poured into drains, where it would poison soil, water and air.

Kept out of soil and water

Mixed waste cannot be sorted well later: one wet peel can spoil a whole bag of paper.

More about our recycling and compost work
Your household

How much waste does your home make?

Choose how many people live with you for a rough estimate, based on average figures for Kathmandu households.

Per day
0.9 kg
Per week
6.6 kg
Per year
343 kg

A week’s waste, by type

  • Degradable66%4.3 kg
  • Plastic12%0.8 kg
  • Paper9%0.6 kg
  • Glass, metal, cloth and other13%0.9 kg

Containers that fit

  • Degradable, collected twice a week: a bucket of about 10 litres, with a lid
  • Non-degradable, collected once a week: a bin or sack of about 25 litres

By sorting, your home turns about 226 kg of waste a year into compost instead of landfill — the weight of 9 sacks of rice (25 kg each).

Estimate only. About 0.24 kg per person a day (JICA study of Kathmandu, cited by ADB, 2013) and a typical mix of 66% degradable, 12% plastic and 9% paper (ADB, 2013). Every household is different.

Compost at home

Turn kitchen waste into free fertiliser

About two thirds of household waste rots. A bucket or a corner of the garden is enough to turn it into compost for your plants.

  1. Pick a container

    A bucket or drum with a lid and a few air holes, a compost bin, or a pit in the garden.

  2. Start with a dry layer

    Put dry leaves, straw or sawdust at the bottom to soak up moisture.

  3. Add kitchen scraps

    Vegetable and fruit peels, tea leaves and egg shells. Chop big pieces small.

  4. Cover it every time

    After adding wet scraps, cover them with a handful of dry leaves or soil. This stops smells and flies.

  5. Keep it damp, not wet

    It should feel like a squeezed-out sponge. Mix it once a week to let air in.

  6. Use it in 2–3 months

    When it is dark, crumbly and smells like soil, it is ready for pots and gardens.

Keep these out of a home compost

  • Plastic, glass and metal
  • A lot of meat, fish, bones or oily food
  • Pet or human waste
  • Diseased plants

If something goes wrong

It smells bad
Too wet. Add dry leaves and mix.
Nothing is happening
Too dry. Sprinkle a little water.
Flies or ants
Scraps are uncovered. Cover them with dry leaves or soil.
Our composting manuals: pit, pile, bin, vermi and bokashi methods

We also train schools, women’s groups and local organisations in composting.

Ask about training
Festivals and events

Celebrate without the mess

Festivals, weddings and bhoj produce a lot of waste in a few days. A little planning keeps it sorted.

Dashain and Tihar

  • Marigold garlands and puja flowers are degradable. Take off threads and plastic first.
  • Soak burnt-out firecrackers in water overnight before throwing them away.
  • Keep unbroken diyo (pala) for next year; wrap broken ones.
  • Flatten sweets boxes and keep them dry.

Weddings, bhoj and gatherings

  • Choose leaf plates (tapari, duna) over thermocol — they are degradable.
  • Put out two clearly marked bins, one for each kind of waste.
  • Serve water from jugs instead of single-use bottles.
  • Expecting a lot of waste? Talk to your nearest office in advance.

Puja and temples

  • Collect flowers and offerings for compost instead of putting them in rivers.
  • Carry offerings in a cloth bag or a plate, not a plastic bag.
  • Take your plastic and wrappers back home with you.

Every day and in the rains

  • In the monsoon, keep degradable waste in a bucket with a lid so it does not smell or leak.
  • Sell clean paper, bottles and metal to a kabadi, or keep them dry for collection.
  • Carry a cloth bag and a water bottle when you go out.
  • Never burn waste — the smoke harms your family and neighbours.
Myth or fact?

Common beliefs, checked

Guess first, then open a card to see the answer.

“It all gets mixed in the truck anyway, so sorting is pointless.”Show the answer
Myth

We collect degradable waste twice a week and non-degradable waste once a week, on separate days. Sorted waste becomes compost, recycled paper and pipes.

“Most of what we throw away could become compost.”Show the answer
Fact

About two thirds of household waste in Nepal’s towns is degradable (ADB, 2013).

“Burning plastic at home is a quick, harmless fix.”Show the answer
Myth

Burning plastic gives off toxic smoke that harms your lungs and your neighbours’. Hand it over with non-degradable waste instead.

“Any paper can be recycled.”Show the answer
Myth

Only clean, dry paper. Wet, oily or dirty paper, such as used tissues, goes with degradable waste.

“Rinsing a milk pouch before throwing it away makes a difference.”Show the answer
Fact

Clean plastic can be sold and recycled. A sour, dirty pouch usually ends up in landfill — and makes the whole bag smell.

“Old medicines can go down the drain or toilet.”Show the answer
Myth

Medicines in water harm fish and can reach drinking water. Keep them in their packets, separate from other waste.

Put the guide on your wall

A one-page A4 poster in Nepali and English for your kitchen, office or school. It prints well in colour or black and white.

Open the poster