Program to sort waste at source launched in Jeddah

Prince Turki bin Naser, officials and 150 residents of Masarra district in Jeddah attended the launch of the “waste sorting at source” garbage collection and recycling program on Saturday. Prince Turki, head of the General Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), helped launch the program for the district, which was selected as the first to implement the program that would be in the future expanded to cover other parts of the Red Sea port city. The city produces 7,000 tons of waste every day, according to unofficial estimates. The mayor’s office has contracted a company to apply the program by sorting waste at the source in two districts for now. The launching ceremony was also attended by executive director of the Saudi Environmental Society (SENS) Prince Nawwaf bin Naser, Jeddah Mayor Hani Abu Ras and vice executive director of the SENS Majda Abu Ras. “We will work on raising environmental awareness among the citizens to reach a point where we apply this program at all districts in Jeddah in the next few years,” said the mayor. The mayor’s office has started the “waste sorting at source” program by establishing experimental ones at Masarra and Fayha districts in order to determine the best ways possible to implement this vital project (all over Jeddah), he said. The accumulation of wastes, transferring and disposing of it the traditional way cause the economy to lose an important resource. Mayor Abu Ras called on government and private organizations, individuals and private societies to cooperate with the mayoralty to make the campaign a success as it benefits everybody, adding that the family has a role to play in encountering the issue of depletion of (environment) resources and in supporting the values of cleanliness. The mayor’s office is working on implementing regulations, contracting domestic companies and cooperating with organizations to raise the level of environmental awareness and encourage positive practices that contribute to environment protection. The Saudi Environmental Society (SENS) have held numerous events, conferences and workshops for all ages on rationalization of energy consumption and waste disposal. Majda Abu Rass said the program is one of many being implemented in cooperation with sectors interested in protecting the environment. In terms of awareness and guidance, SENS has prepared an integrated program. It has met with and held a training workshop for 400 women of Masarra district. Unofficial data estimate that the cost for recycling wastes in Saudi cities would range between SR 36 billion and SR 40 billion. Arab countries spend about $ 2.5 billion annually to protect the population from the harmful effects of 1.3 billion tons of animal waste, 196 million tons of agricultural wastes and 18.8 million cubic meter of waste water, she said. She estimated that only 50 percent of waste is collected. Arab modest investments in the field of waste recycling do not exceed $ 200 million. But in the United States, the UK and Germany the percentage of the country’s industrial investments are 28 percent, 23 percent and 35 percent respectively. Arabnews