It was never envisaged that solid waste could become a big nuisance to the community of Bhutan. From the very beginning 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 practised elsewhere in the world.
For a country that has suddenly emerged from the the Middle Ages, that was easier said than done. Development funds were limited, followed by the slow processes of social and habitual transition. Even now, urban populations are predominantly first-generation migrants who have spent at least their childhood in the rural farming society where civic sense of any kind is nonexistent. Besides inadequate infrastructure, difficulty in changing people's attitude and age-old habits pose the biggest challenge in the field of solid waste management. This research is an attempt at guiding the implementing agencies in managing the solid wastes in Bhutan.