In an renewed battle to tackle the mounting garbage problem, the Thimphu city corporation (TCC) will empty all recycle bins in the city tomorrow and urge the public to use them correctly by segregating waste. This step is an immediate action the city corporation is once more taking, after concerned agencies discussed solid waste management in a three-day conference from August 18. Placing of recycle bins began in April this year. Ten sets of bins, each consisting of a bin for plastic, tins and bottles were placed at the Thimphu referral hospital parking, city bus stand at Chang Lam, botanical garden parking, Serbithang, Mothithang children's park, Sangaygang, clock tower square, outside the royal civil service commission canteen, Zangtopelri, Sunday market and Hong Kong market. But, two months ago, because of the misuse of bins, three sets were lifted by TCC from Zangtopelri, Sunday market and Hong Kong market. "We lifted the recycle bins because people thought that it was a garbage bin and continued to dump everything together,' said solid waste in-charge at TCC Ganesh Gurung. He added that people stopped disposing of waste into garbage collection trucks after the recycle bins were placed. Irresponsibility, lack of knowledge on segregation of waste at source and lack of awareness on the location of recycle bins are some of the reasons Ganesh Gurung cited for the misuse of recycle bins. "For this to work, we need to tie up with good scrap dealers and we're seriously working on it.' City officials said that Thimphu started feeling the pressure of garbage especially after the municipal boundary was extended, from eight sq km to about 27 sq km, in 1999. A national survey by the department of urban development and engineering services (DUDES) showed that 50.48 percent of Thimphu's waste is organic, while the rest comprised of plastic, metal, glass, textile, paper and electrical waste. The deputy executive engineer of DUDES, Sherab Phuntsho, said that, if segregated, and assuming that all electrical and textile waste is non recyclable, only about 15 percent of the garbage would finally reach the landfill. As the prime minister had said in the closing ceremony of the conference, "Waste management is not the problem, but waste reduction is.' By Sonam Pelden spelden@kuensel.com.bt