Toward sustainable Municipal Waste Management at refugee camps-Jordan
الدكتور محمد الجرادين | Mohammad Aljaradin
22/04/2021 القراءات: 3421
Deciding the most effective and sustainable waste management systems is key to maintaining adequate living standards in the refugee camps, especially when you consider that over 65 million people around the world were displaced from their homes in 2015 according to the United Nation. Jordan's population has increased by 3 million in the last five years. 1.5 Million are refugees from Syria, the majority of them are living outside camps within the local communities’ throughout the country and particularly in the Northern part of the country. This enormous influx increased solid waste volume generated. In refugee camps around the world, the main concern is primary needs such as survival and protection, waste management is often far down on the list of priorities. The main problem in the camps nowadays that people live under very bad conditions and the generated waste is creating environmental and affecting hygiene, polluting water and emitting toxic gases. One consequence is an amplification of the practice to burn the waste raising general health hazards. There has been a steady increase in the volume of municipal solid waste in Jordan, which has been estimated by 3 % annually, especially in the last decades due to population growth, social and economic developments and the massive influx of refugees caused by the conflicts in the neighboring countries. While the generation of solid waste is increasing, the infrastructure is old and insufficient, the waste collection accordingly inadequate, containers are not enough and the landfills are limited. USAID estimated the total fiscal cost for municipal governments in Jordan originating from the Syrian refugee crisis amounted to around $25.4 million in 2013 and $33.0 million in 2014. Waste management has been a serious environmental and social concern in Jordan even before the refugee influx, particularly in the major cities as a result of rapid urbanization, due to increased levels of waste generation and lack of appropriate land and facility for final disposal. There is a need for municipal solid waste stream characterization and composition analysis to allow for an accurate estimation for an effective waste management system. The per capita waste generation in Jordan is estimated at 0.9 kg per day. Around 50 % was organic, 16 % plastic, 15 % paper, and cardboard, and the remainder included glass, metal and other types of waste. The recent studies conducted by the relevant NGOs working at Refugee camps-Jordan showed that that the refugee camps produce daily MSW including organic waste and recycled material in similar percentages as recorded in Jordan. Less than 5% of Jordan’s solid waste being recycled at the moment as there is no large-scale and effective municipal solid waste sorting practice or recycling system yet in place. Turning recyclable waste into a resource that can be sold on creates economic opportunities for camp residents and could help improve their living conditions now and in the future.
waste management refugee camps Jordan
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