Hindiyeh: The Wrong Ways and Methods of Waste Disposal Threaten the Environment

Al-Anbat- SALLY SBEIHAT 

Translated by: MAYS ALSHAWABKEH 

Obeidat: The Ministry will make sure that waste management does not deteriorate. 

In the modern era, climate change is a crucial issue. Whether altered weather patterns endanger food production, the effects of climate change are widespread and unparalleled in scope. If drastic action is not taken now, it will be harder and more expensive to adapt to these effects in the future, or increasing sea levels could raise the danger of catastrophic floods.

It is now time to implement the royal visions of the economic modernization approach based on His Majesty King Abdullah II's vision for growing public affairs, governmental institutions, and the national economy.

The vision called for the modernization of about eight different industries, including the environment sector, which prioritized a number of ideas, including the idea of green cities in Jordan, emission-free structures, biodiversity, the National Waste Management Plan, and a research platform on climate change and disaster preparedness. 

Speaking with Al-Anbat, Dr. Muna Hindiyeh claimed that the recent changes in population patterns had radically altered all facets of human activity, which in turn had increased the generation of waste. 

As in other nations, Jordan had some of the cleanest cities in the world, but the environmental problem of waste being dumped on the ground in public spaces was growing there as well. This was especially problematic because it was harming Jordan's image abroad and had negative effects on the environment, the economy, and public health. 

Municipalities' institutional structure, the absence of waste management infrastructure, the rise in poverty, the influx of refugees, and, most crucially, changes in citizen behavior brought on by a lack of awareness of the causes of rubbish throwing, all contribute to the issue. 

She outlined how improper waste management practices endanger the environment and have an impact on a variety of environmental components, including soil, air, water, and biodiversity in particular. For instance, light-weight, non-biodegradable plastic waste kills many wild and domesticated animals by accidently ingesting it. Moving garbage results in the eradication of plants from the environment and the spread of pests like flies and mice that travel great distances. 

The Ministry of Environment should work to support the participation of citizens, researchers, municipalities, industry, and other sectors in order to provide practical solutions for controlling the problem. Additionally, there is a need to increase voluntary efforts by individuals and civil society organizations in order to organize community education campaigns and encourage change in negative behaviors, as pointed out by Hindiyeh.

The launch of national plans for green growth, according to the spokesman for the Ministry of the Environment, Dr. Ahmed Obeidat, was a turning point for a green economy that was responsive to climate change. It was also one of the programs covered by the Waste Management Programme to address climate change disasters, which were a global phenomenon with a global impact that needed to be addressed in a variety of ways. 

In order to manage trash and its detrimental effects on the environment, the Ministry, in collaboration with the appropriate partners, launched a framework law in 2020, he continued. The Ministry will make sure there are measures in place to deal with the phenomena of indiscriminate dumping of garbage, particularly the dumping of automobiles on major streets, and that it does not retreat in the area of waste. Due to this, it has become common for Jordanian society, particularly in parks and forests, which are crucial components of the work system for the Ministry of the Environment and have a responsibility to conserve the intended biodiversity. 

In order to prepare a group of citizens for the risk of handling waste that could negatively impact people because it has not been handled properly, he continued, the Ministry has conducted training courses. He expected the Ministry to be a strategic partner alongside the Ministry of Environment and the relevant stakeholders. 

He pointed to Jordan's first health cell and second-largest landfill, both of which are currently undergoing extensive rehabilitation, as evidence that the country has successfully operated a waste-to-power plant for the Greater Amman Municipality and a comprehensive system of landfill gas, biogas extraction, and energy use. 

He stated that the Ministry has started a Green Growth Plan due to its interest in the Green Buildings side. The green economy and green cities, which are also the major axes, are significant topics for the Ministry. To reach the massive number of green buildings necessary to start converting today's cities into the "smart" green cities of the future, the Ministry is prepared to work with all authorities. 

Jordan has taken part in a number of global climate conferences. It has established a committee to address the phenomena of climate change under the auspices of the Ministry and a number of official state organizations and local civil authorities in order to achieve all climate determinants. He pointed out that adopting a green perspective entails a variety of water and energy-related challenges, both of which are crucial to halting climate change. 

The lack of financing choices and cost-recovery options for waste management systems, according to Obeidat, is one of the most important green development problems facing the waste management industry.  

In the modern world, the subject of climate change is significant. The effects of altering weather patterns, which endanger a variety of industries including agriculture, water, the environment, and others, are widespread, unprecedented, and have a global reach. Therefore, it's critical to develop unconventional ideas and strategies for combating climate change in the future.