YK Poudel

How about paying parking fee with trash instead of cash? Sounds a little bizarre but possible.

Phuentsholing Thromde is experimenting with a unique payment method— trash instead of cash for parking fees.

The founder of Druk Trash Solution, Jamtsho Drukpa, has implemented this novel approach across 85 parking areas in Phuentsholing, where he accepts garbage as payment for parking.

He shared about this innovative circular economy initiative at the ‘Sense-Making Policy Dialogues’ on September 9, in Thimphu.

Bhutan Ecological Society (BES) hosted this first of the three-series dialogue on September 9 in Thimphu after the conclusion of the ‘Plastics: Waste and Resource Expo and Hackathon’.

Jamtsho Drukpa said that the parking fee is Nu 20 for 30 minutes and in its place, they accept a kilogramme (kg) of plastic waste.

Druk Trash Solution collects close to 40kg of plastic daily. “We are planning to go all out with this system in the entire thromde premise in Phuentsholing,” Jamtsho Drukpa said.

Plastic waste will be shredded to produce tar which will be used for road maintenance within Phuentsholing Thromde while HDPE plastics will be modeled into poles, flower pots, and bricks.

“Druk Trash Solutions (DTS) has committed that by mid-2025, the landfill at Pekershing will be zero-plastic landfill,” he said. Since last year, the DTS have signed a MoU with The Green Roads, a private plastic roads making company, where DTS will collect plastic waste from Phuentsholing Thromde and supply it to The Green Roads, which will be used for blacktopping roads across the country.

A total of 15 waste workers across Bhutan attended the dialogue, discussing a range of issues related to waste management, including challenges, policy reforms, and the way forward. 

Jamtsho Drukpa highlighted the need for the government to support firms and individuals involved in promoting the circular economy.

One of the members of the SheCycle group, Dechen Wangmo, said that people are often aggressive towards the waste workers. “A behavioural change is required to ensure that the workers feel secure and motivated.”

“In many areas, spiritual leaders are leading waste management campaigns,” she said. “This has proved effective, because from a religious perspective, littering in sacred areas are considered sin.”

The programme director of Samdrupjongkhar Initiative, Cheku Dorji,  said that certain policy intervention is required to introduce an integrated approach to waste management. “A wider approach involving civil society organisations, local government, spiritual leaders and government agencies should work with a common and integrated approach,” he said.

One of the organisers, Phub Dorji,  said that the primary goal of the dialogue was to translate the learnings into actionable waste management policies that will help shape Bhutan’s future approach to tackling plastic pollution.

“We hope to advance our shared mission of achieving a plastic-free environment in Bhutan by fostering stronger collaborations across sectors,” he said. “Two more sense-making workshops are planned for October.”

The project is a part of the Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia (PLEASE) initiative implemented by South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, supported by the UNOPS and the World Bank.