Beverley Thorpe is International Director of Clean Production Action and a board member of both Breast Cancer Action Montreal and Prevent Cancer Now. She recently went to Bhutan in October, at the invitation of their Prime Minister, to advise on their domestic waste problem.

Bhutan is a landlocked kingdom situated between India and part of China (formerly Tibet) and a country that strives to enhance Gross National Happiness for its population. It is known as the Dragon Kingdom and has, until recently, been closed to outsiders. Television and the internet arrived at the end of the 1990s and, at the beginning of this new century, the king paved the way for a devolution of power to a new parliament, believing that the Bhutanese must understand, practice and be responsible for democratically electing their government.

Bhutan has maintained almost three quarters of its forest cover and is very environmentally conscious about its resources. However, waste is another matter. The people litter due to the lack of accessible waste containers and their one landfill is now full. As with many countries which face burgeoning waste generation, incinerators are often seen as the solution for waste and Beverley was invited to give a second opinion on a proposal to build one in Bhutan. Her expertise on dioxin and toxic emissions from incinerators enabled her to broaden the people’s awareness about the downside of incineration. She delivered a ten-step plan to reach zero waste in the country within three years.

Said Beverley: “It was an honour and a wonderful experience to be in Bhutan. More importantly, it was a timely opportunity to bring new information to the government to help them make an informed decision about the type of waste management Bhutan will decide on for the future. Because Bhutan is not a high consuming society, its waste generation is very manageable. Almost all of it can be composted, recycled and, in the case of cell phones and other electronic products, taken back by the producers for recycling. It’s not every day that one has the privilege to contribute at the introduction of a new policy and I hope that I have helped in some way to set this most beautiful country on the path to Zero Waste and a dioxin-free environment.”