The city of Katmandu recently played host to some 88 delegates for a UN-HABITAT facilitated workshop that deliberated on landfill design and operation.
Titled ‘Developing Sustainable Cities through Improved Waste Management in Nepal: Learning from Experience of Fukuoka City’, the three day event was held at the request of the government of Nepal through the Ministries of Physical Planning and Works, and Local Development. UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and the Fukuoka city of Japan provided technical expertise on the subject.
The Fukuoka Method is a particular type of landfill design and operation which ROAP and Fukuoka have been promoting since 1998. The method is a semi-aerobic landfill that relies heavily on the process of self-purification of waste.
Nepal’s Ministry of Local Development, Department for Urban Development and Building Construction, and the Municipal Association of Nepal have been searching for an affordable, environmentally friendly landfill technology and this provided them an opportunity to find out if the Fukuoka Method can respond to their needs.
The primary objective of the workshop was to share the experience of Fukuoka City in waste management and to learn more about the Fukuoka Method landfill design and operation. The workshop also provided an opportunity to participating municipalities to share their experiences and problems in the field of municipal waste management with experts from Fukuoka City and UN-HABITAT.
The Fukuoka Landfill Method was developed through long-term joint research work conducted by the city of Fukuoka and Fukuoka University. It was first adopted citywide in Fukuoka City during the 1970's. Currently, 70 per cent of municipal landfills in Japan are of this type. It is designed to minimize the financial and maintenance burden on waste management, while at the same time providing highly effective results. It is suitable for the socio-economic conditions of developing countries, with many countries such as Malaysia, Samoa Island and China already practicing this method.