Waste: Bhutan Hospitality and Cleaning Services has been contracted to collect and dispose waste from Thimphu thromde’s north zone from this month. The contract for five years was signed on May 31.

The Bhutan Hospitality and Cleaning Services is a cleaning service provider in Thimphu that hires housewives from low-income groups.

The firm will collect segregated waste thrice a week from Chubachu till the Dechencholing area.

The firm’s CEO, Jyoti Gurung, said that the firm, as a cleaning company deals with waste segregation on a small scale. Securing the contract to collect and dispose municipal waste of the city’s north zone is an extension of the business, she added.

Despite the challenges like educating residents on waste and segregation, the firm is positive that they will provide good services to residents of the two areas.

“We will not work as a contractor but as partners and work together with the thromde and Greener Way,” she said.

She added that many think segregating waste is an easy job. She said segregation is an important part of the recycling process to decrease the amount of garbage being dumped at the Memelakha landfill.

The firm currently has about 40 employees including 14 new recruits for the waste collection and disposal job. Jyoti Gurung said that the firm is recruiting more employees. “We prefer unemployed youths,” she said.

The collection work for the north zone was expected to start in August, last year. However, a firm bidding for the contract could not fulfill the technical requirements that included analysing collection routes because of which the thromde decided to re-tender the work.

Of the three bidders who submitted their proposals for the collection and disposal of waste from the north zone, Bhutan Hospitality and Cleaning Services was awarded the contract after assessing its financial proposal. The quoted amount for the north zone was Nu 435,290 per month.

Thimphu thromde’s deputy executive engineer, Yeshi Wangdi said that unlike the previous bid, only financial proposals were considered this time.

The thromde prepared the technical proposal since most of the interested private firms find fulfilling the criteria difficult because of which bidders were reluctant to participate, Yeshi Wangdi said. “We wanted more private firms to participate in the quotation so that there will be competition and the best company gets the contract,” Yeshi Wangdi said.

Out of 19 waste collection trucks that the thromde has, five have been given to the Bhutan Hospitality and Cleaning Services while Greener Way was given 13 collection trucks on lease.

Greener Way was awarded the contract to collect and dispose of waste from the south and central zones in January.

Dechen Tshomo