Introduction: Solid waste management is a major issue in Nepal with Kathmandu valley generating the highest amount of solid waste. After recovery, the solid waste generated in Kathmandu valley is transferred to the Sisdol landfill site. There are waste workers in Sisdol landfill site who sustain their livelihood by collecting recyclables from those wastes. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is necessary to protect the frontline waste workers against infection. In addition, the waste workers need to know the proper usage of PPE in order to protect themselves from contamination. This study aimed to assess the awareness and proper usage of PPE along with the challenges faced by the waste workers at Sisdol landfill site. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from landfill waste workers of Sisdol located at Kakani Rural Municipality in Nuwakot district of Nepal. A convenience sampling method was used based on the availability of landfill waste workers on that day and their willingness to participate. The data was collected using the structured questionnaire and personal interview of available waste workers. Results: The study comprised of 65% female and 35% male waste workers. The highest percentage of waste workers belong to 27-37 age group occupying 43% of total respondents.  Around 92% waste workers had participated in any orientation/training or session related to PPE and its usage. About 60% landfill waste workers were found only using mask and gloves. Conclusion: There is small number of waste workers who wish to wear full set of PPE. Most of them only like to wear mask and gloves. The gender, age group and the education level of waste workers had no association with the usage of PPE during the work.

The rapid urbanization and economic growth have caused increase of plastic products globally. The least developed countries (LDCs) have been facing severe problems with solid waste due to lack of people’s awareness, lack of skilled manpower to handle waste and necessary equipment to manage in sustainable manner. Nepal, a LDC in South Asia, lacks source segregation leading the maximum plastic items reaching to the landfill site. It is even difficult for the planning authorities to make effective plans for sustainable management of plastic waste due to lack of waste generation data. Nepal has made many rules and directives to ban plastic bags till date but has failed in its implementation. This study is the first of its kind to capture the perception of youths towards single use bags in Nepal. This study was conducted among 569 Nepalese youths of age between 18-40 years. A closed ended self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the respondents and responses were collected for three weeks. The questionnaire was prepared using google form and distributed via Facebook. A snowball method was used where the respondents were asked to share the questionnaire in their network. It was found that majority of Nepalese youths have been practicing the source segregation at their houses. The use of single use plastic is very common in Nepal with an individual using at least 208 plastic bags in a year. The gender and source segregation of waste was statistically significant with p-value of 0.02 (<0.05). The main reason of using plastic bags was its easy availability. There is lack of alterative to the plastic bags in Nepal. However, the youths are ready to support the government plastic ban policy and have asked the alternatives to the plastic bags. The result has shown that the Nepalese people have negative perception towards single use plastics and are in search of alternatives. The government need to implement heavy penalty for producing plastic bags greater than 30 micron and deploy tax with shop keepers and customer if found using it.

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Source segregation, the first important step for effective solid waste management, is practised by a handful of organizations in limited areas in Nepal. The inadequacy of source segregation and ineffective collection system in Nepal have led to maximum waste reaching the landfill site. Though several researchers have studied the role of stakeholders and the importance of youths in the waste management sector, there is a paucity of studies on the role of youths, particularly in waste segregation in Nepal. In this regard, this study was conducted to understand the at-source household waste segregation practices by youths in Nepal. The study adopted the snowball sampling technique. A structured survey questionnaire which included information on the sociodemographic status of the respondents, placement of bins, segregation practices, and satisfaction with the waste collection provider was used to elicit information from 522 youths. It was found that almost half (49.2%) of the respondents had installed two dustbins in their kitchen with 80.3% of respondents claiming to practice source segregation in their houses. The majority (75.1%) of participants were ready to pay more for improved solid waste management in their area. Also, 75.8% of respondents declared that everyone is responsible for solid waste management with fewer than 14.8% and 9.4%, stating that waste management should be the responsibility of the government and waste management service provider, respectively. The gender and source segregation was statistically significant with a p value of 0.007 (<0.05). However, the likelihood ratio significance showed no association between the level of education and the practice of source segregation. Hence, the source segregation practice of household solid waste was found to be satisfactory among the youths of Nepal. Thus, there should be a proper monitoring mechanism to ensure that household waste gets collected in a segregated form causing less burden on landfills.

Green living focuses on the use of renewable products with less emphasis on the natural resources. The improvement in teaching methodology, qualified teachers and child centered curriculum are required for green schools. Vajra Academy was purposively chosen for this study as it is the first green and eco-friendly school of Nepal This study determines different components of green living in Vajra Academy School of Nepal, connecting the knowledge, attitude and practice level of students. The study was done on 32 students from Grade VI and VII. A structured survey questionnaire was asked with students and open-ended questions were asked with school administration. The six different indicators of green living namely water, transport, food, energy, waste, and curriculum have been discussed in this paper. It was found that there is no gender difference in gaining knowledge about the green living components. However, the study reveals that there is difference in attitude of treating from the gender perspective. The practice level is weak compared to the knowledge and attitude of the students. The knowledge of green living among students of Vajra Academy was extraordinary; the attitude was good whereas, the practice level was average.