Kabul residents living in areas far from the city center are complaining about the lack of garbage bins in their neighborhoods. They say that even after walking long distances, not a single trash receptacle can be found, and the problem has caused significant hardship for the public. According to them, the absence of bins has forced people to dump waste along roads, alleys, and drainage channels. They add that the accumulation of garbage beside streets and lanes has also created serious health and environmental problems.
Residents warn that as the weather grows warmer, the risk of disease outbreaks and the spread of dangerous viruses will rise sharply unless waste is collected and managed in time.
Speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, these residents criticized the performance of the Kabul Municipality under Taliban administration. In their view, the municipality’s negligence has not only led to piles of garbage in various parts of the city but has also created conditions that attract stray dogs.
Sharif, a resident of the Chihilsutun area, says the Taliban-run Kabul Municipality has not installed a single garbage bin in his neighborhood, leaving people no choice but to dump their trash along public roads and around residential complexes. He believes the situation has marred the appearance of the city and turned roadside dumping into a common practice.
“This problem is truly serious. Kabul today is no longer the Kabul we once knew. People throw their garbage wherever they please. The face of the city has completely changed, and the stench has made it hard even to breathe. It is unclear where the municipality’s budget is being spent, when officials cannot install even a few garbage bins in the capital of a country,” Sharif said.
Nawid, another Kabul resident, says the absence of bins and oversight in the city’s alleys and districts has led people to discard waste on the streets without any concern. If they do not dump it by the roadside, he adds, they are forced to carry it over long distances. According to him, municipality workers also collect garbage selectively, picking up mainly items that can be sold, such as metals and iron scraps, while leaving plastic and other waste behind.
“Having bins at close intervals is a genuine necessity. Their absence makes the work of municipality employees harder and leaves the city utterly filthy. Another problem is that some people refuse to cooperate. When they see garbage piled up in one spot or a bin already full, instead of taking their trash elsewhere, they scatter waste all around the area, which is very bad behavior,” Nawid said.
Other residents say the problem is not limited to the city’s outskirts but extends to many of Kabul’s most important and central districts, where bins are also hard to find.
Dilawar, another Kabul resident, considers the shortage of garbage bins across the city a serious challenge. He says that this is not confined to the outskirts; even in key diplomatic areas such as Wazir Akbar Khan and Sherpur, finding a bin is difficult.
He adds that people throw their waste into the drainage channels beside the roads, and after heavy rainfall, the trash blocks the flow of water and causes flooding on public streets.
“Garbage bins can only be seen in a few spots around the municipality building itself, and that’s all. Elsewhere, there are either none at all or very few, and never enough. There should be a bin every few meters, because it is genuinely a serious need,” Dilawar said.
Hamdard, another Kabul resident, also criticized the situation, noting that beyond the lack of bins, some people are unaware of how to use them properly. According to him, the municipality should launch awareness campaigns through traditional media and social networks to promote a culture of cleanliness, so the public also plays its part in keeping the city clean.
“The absence of bins creates major problems. It pollutes the environment, contaminates the air, and brings disorder to the city. It worsens the stench and creates conditions for stray dogs to gather,” Hamdard said.
According to official statistics, more than 4,600 tons of garbage are produced daily in Kabul, with plastic materials making up a large share.
Figures show that, on average, each individual in Kabul produces between half a kilogram and one kilogram of waste per day. Daily garbage production in the city ranges between 5,000 and 5,500 tons.
While residents continue to criticize the shortage of garbage bins, Taliban municipal officials, in their latest measure, have introduced “forced labor” as part of the punishment for those who pollute the city. Under the decision, anyone who fails to observe urban hygiene rules will, in addition to paying a cash fine, be required to spend one or more days working alongside municipality employees to clean the streets and collect garbage. The measure has drawn widespread reaction on social media.
Previously, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) warned that the lack of waste and sewage management in Afghanistan threatens public health and that the country faces serious environmental challenges, including plastic pollution, deforestation, and the depletion of water resources.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
نبود سطلهای زباله در کابل؛ مردم: شهر به محل انبار زباله تبدیل شده است
