Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Recycling

http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/homenews/homenews5.htm


What a waste ! This project will never see the day light, people aren't only going to haul away the contents of the the containers, they are going to to take the containers and use it for something else. I remember back in the seventies when Amman municipality decided to disseminate black plastic garbage bags for the citizens of Amman so they don't put their garbage in an open container that usually gets attacked by wild cats, and attracts mice and other crawling insects. The people never complied, they took the plastic bags from the garbage collector and never put it in the container, instead, people started using those plastic bags to save the old loaves of bread from hardening, and to store their clothing for the next season. some people went as far as stealing some of these bags and went to sell them in the flea market on weekend . Before you know it the municipality stopped the distribution process. I have no idea what the people are using to contain their garbage these days. In any event and as far as this new project is concerned, the rummage enthusiasts will have a filed day with these new containers especially the ones that are going to be placed in the rich areas of Amman. The homeless, the looters, the indigents, are going to follow through on fishing expeditions excavating inside these containers. In my opinion unless the municipality secure these containers with chains, steel lids, and locks, the project will fall apart in no time. Better yet, the containers themselves are going to disappear and will be seen being resold in one of the many flea markets scattered around the city of Amman.

6 comments:

Roba said...

ya3ni at least they're going to try.. they tried a similar project a few years back in "key areas" and I remember than even my grandmother who has nothing to do with the environment and such stuff bothered to use the new recycling system.
it would definitely not work everywhere though..

Hatem Abunimeh said...

It would be a good idea to install it as a pilot program and try it in a specific location for a specific period of time, but to say that we are going to install containers throughout the city neighborhoods is totally and completely absurd. I have a news for them, the containers are going to walk, they may even disappear as fast as they are being put in. I ember when they installed the pay phones in the downtown areas several years ago, people ripped the hand sets from the phones, and the phones were left without a hand set, and in some instances they ripped the phone from the post. I'm not saying that they shouldn't try, I'm saying that they should coordinate with the people from the EPS, environmental protection society. They already have the know how on what to do in order for the program to succeed, but you know what, the municipality already ignored the pleas from the EPS personnel, they even refused to share any information with them because they are non governmental organization. They really need to think this thing over before they waste their money on recycling bins that aren't going to recycle anything. in my opinion it should be 5 to 10 year project and not an all out distribution all over the city of Amman.

Roba said...

Oh, yes, I totally agree. It would NEVER work in poorer less environmentally aware areas.

Anyway, welcome to the planet :)

Linda said...

Welcome to Jordan Planet Hatem!

Hatem Abunimeh said...

Thank you Roba and thank you Linda, I'm honored to be a member of the Jordan Planet family.

Blogger said...

Hey Hatem, I'll be definitely a frequent visitor, nice posts.
Now, it seems that you haven’t been in Jordan for a while. Amman is actually one of the cleanest capitals in the region. The thanks go to the GMA and to the people. Now, I agree that a well staged awareness campaign should precede the distribution of these containers.
Actually I think people should be first taught to stop lettering garbage. People would laugh at me when I keep holding an empty soda can for a long time till I found a garbage bin.
Schools and newspapers should play a key role in this. I have a profound trust in the power of education. People could learn, even in the “least environmentally aware” areas.
Now, regarding the issue of GMA not consulting with the environmental protection society , well this is a bad sign. We do not know all details, but for the sake of the public interest there should be full coordination. Unfortunately it seems that someone wants to take the full credit even if the outcome was not satisfactory.

http://iheartamman.blogspot.com/2005/09/towards-sustainable-amman-reduce-reuse.html