On March 24, 2025, over 130 participants gathered at City Hotel, Thimphu, for the PLEASE Project Waste Symposium By the Bhutan Ecological Society. The event aimed to bridge the gap between waste research and waste work, and ensure that research findings are not just academic, but directly contribute to Bhutan’s waste management efforts.
Bringing together researchers, policymakers, waste entrepreneurs, waste workers, students, and teachers, the symposium provided a much-needed space for dialogue on Bhutan’s waste issues. Eight researchers presented their work, covering diverse topics such as plastic pollution in rivers, circular economy principles, and behavioral shifts in waste management. These insights set the stage for a deeper conversation about how to apply research findings to real-world waste challenges. These presentations were followed by a panel discussion that included a waste entrepreneur, a waste policy manager, and a waste academician. The conversation focused on how researchers and waste workers can collaborate more effectively. A key outcome was the Request to Researchers, a list of urgent research areas that need further exploration to strengthen Bhutan’s waste management efforts.
The research areas identified include wet waste composting, biodigesters for energy recovery, behavioral shifts in waste management, circular economy principles, integrating technology into waste solutions, plastic waste output in Bhutan, mapping waste sources, case studies for replicable success stories, robust waste data collection,, waste segregation and characterization, and waste-to-energy capacity.
The symposium concluded with a lunch and networking session, allowing attendees to connect, exchange ideas, and explore potential collaborations. Researchers engaged with policymakers and waste workers, discussing how they could work together to implement research-backed solutions. The PLEASE Project Waste Symposium successfully reinforced the need for evidence-based solutions in Bhutan’s waste sector. It emphasized that waste research must go beyond academic reports and be actively applied to waste policies, business models, and grassroots initiatives. By connecting waste researchers with practitioners, this symposium took an important step toward a cleaner, more sustainable Bhutan. The momentum generated will continue to drive action, foster partnerships, and inspire future research to create real change in how waste is managed across the country.
