City Services

Trash Day is a fun event in our house. Every Monday one of my kids exclaims, "trash day" and peers out the window at the notoriously green stinky trash truck. We wave at the trash man, he waves back and then we go about our business until the next trash day. But what if our trash man decided not to come? What if Trash Day did not exist? Every year my husband and I clean out our garage and basement, getting rid of the accumulation of junk. Cardboard boxes, old broken toys, clothes too small for our growing babies, books, worn out furniture, these are all items that find their way into our basement. How is it possible to accumulate so much junk when Trash Day comes every seven days? How about doing without trash day, or for that matter, no electricity, no running water, no buses, no firefighters (I could go on, but you get the point)?

As my husband is readying himself for upcoming travels in Nepal I have begun to wonder if I could survive in this country where garbage is left on streets to rot (creating an epic environmental crisis), solid waste disposal is not being properly managed, electricity is inadequate and parcelled out haphazardly, bus services are frequently and without warning shut down, and where in Kathmandu (population 2 million give or take) alone, I found (via a few internet searches) that there are only about 7-10 firetrucks. Coupled with this lack of services, is a staggering chronic water shortage.

http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullTodays.php?headline=Garbage+worries+valley+dwellers&NewsID=254521


http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=No+alternative+in+sight+for+Aletar+landfill+site+&NewsID=283345

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110410/wl_asia_afp/nepalenergyeconomy

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Insufficient+fire+engines+render+city+vulnerable&NewsID=282529


http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=30257

Every Monday, as I watch our trash truck rumble down our street I am grateful (even  if it comes late and wakes my two year old from her nap). Yes, I pay a hefty price for my city services but all too often I forget what it would be like to live in a place without.