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It was never envisaged that solid waste could become a big nuisance to the community. From the very beginning the solid waste management was the most neglected of all other service sectors. Given the fact that Bhutan had started its modern economic development very lately, it not only had the opportunity to establish its urban centers with all the required infrastructures in place but also to adopt the best development models practiced elsewhere in the world. But for a country that has suddenly emerged from the era of medieval period it was easier said than done. Development funds were limited followed by slow process of social and habitual transition. Even now, urban populations are predominantly first generation migrants who had spent at least their childhood in the rural farming society where civic sense of any kind is nonexistent. Besides inadequate infrastructures, difficulty in changing people´s attitude and age old habits poses the biggest challenge especially in the field of solid waste management. Therefore, this research work is an attempt to guide the implementing agencies to manage the solid wastes in Bhutan.

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Ngawang Gyaltshen K is a practicing Architect and Infrastructure Planner. He founded Bhutan Architecture Services and Infrastructure Consulting. He received his B. Architecture form SPA, New Delhi in 2000 and Msc. Infrastructure Planning from University of Stuttgart, Germany in 2007. He started his career in 2001 in the Ministry of Works, Bhutan.

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