April 21: The National Environment Commission Secretariat has come up with a draft Waste Management Act to tackle the growing problem of waste management.

With the draft Act now ready, officials from the National Environment Commission are conducting a series of consultation meetings. One such meeting was conducted in Trashigang on Friday, April 18.

Today waste disposal is a major problem across the kingdom. With rapid socio-economic development, this problem is only expected to grow. The Waste Management bill is aimed at tackling this problem.

The National Environment Commission’s senior Environmental Officer Yeshey Penjor said the problem is not only an eyesore it is a threat to human health.

The draft Act will encourage segregation of waste, reduce littering, and promote proper waste disposal. Under the Act, the tax on import of eco friendly products would be reduced. Heftier tax will be slapped on those who import products which generate large volumes of waste.

The draft Act states that violations of the provisions of the Act and regulations will be punished by administrative orders, fines or criminal penalties. In case of medical wastes, it should be disposed in an environmentally sound manner.

The draft Act will be discussed with concerned stakeholders throughout the kingdom before it is submitted to the government. After that, it will be submitted to the National Assembly.

The meeting was attended by Regional Trade Directors, Dzongkhag, Thrimkhang, and Dungkhag officials, Municipal Engineers, Dzongkhag Environment Officers, geog CEO’s and private sector representatives from six the eastern Dzongkhags.