Environmental cooperation with West Bank cities
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Environmental cooperation with West Bank cities

  • 6/3/2013
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    A refuse disposal site is currently being established for the Bethlehem and Hebron areas, allowing the closure of 17 pirate sites which are currently causing numerous environmental hazards.
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    Qalqilya mayor visits Ariel Sharon Park to learn about waste disposal Qalqilya mayor visits Ariel Sharon Park to learn about waste disposal Copyright: COGAT
     
     
    (COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories)

    A monthly meeting was held in May 2013 at the refuse disposal site currently being construction at El Minaya, in the Bethlehem area, between the Bethlehem District Coordination and Liaison Office's International Organizations Officer and Yasser Dawik, the World Bank's Project Development Director. The project is being financed by the World Bank and will be operated by Palestinian entrepreneurs. The European Commission has donated $7 million worth of digging and work equipment for the project and USAID had donated a further $3 million for the construction of an access road to the site.

    The disposal site will be able to process 700 tons of refuse and is expected to serve the population of Bethlehem for approximately 50 years. The land excavation stage was completed during March 2012 and the ongoing work at the site is expected to already be completed over the next two months.
     
    The importance of the project lies in the closure of the 17 pirate refuse collection sites which are currently responsible for generating numerous environmental hazards. Thirteen of the pirate sites have already been shut down and the closure of 4 more will follow as soon as work on the El Minaya site has been completed. Plans are likewise underway for the establishment of an educational center for both adults and children, to teach the importance of recycling and safeguarding the environment.  Trees are to be planted around the refuse disposal site, which shall be a garden park in all respects.

    "Once the project has been completed, we shall be proud to say that indeed no pirate refuse disposal sites any longer exist in the area," announced Yasser Dawik, the World Bank's Project Development Director. "In stark contrast to the pirate sites, this site shall be a place for improving both the lives of the resident population and the quality of the environment."

     

  • New waste disposal ideas for Qalqilya

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    On May 26, a joint tour of Ariel Sharon Park focusing on environmental issues was initiated by the Ephraim District Coordination and Liaison Administration, and was attended by the head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration, the mayor of Qalqilya, the municipal engineer and their respective deputies, as well as the infrastructure supervisor in the Judea and Samaria Civil Administration's Office of Environmental Affairs.

    Ariel Sharon Park is located at the site of the former Hiriya refuse dump. The area has been rehabilitated and turned into a national environmental park. The goal of the joint tour was to present to the Qalqilya representatives operational ways and creative ideas for handling environmental hazards such as the Qalqilya dump, which is awaiting rehabilitation or renovation to become an environmentally friendly site.

    The large mountain of trash that currently sits near the city of Qalqilya is an environmental hazard, and requires a solution or plan. The Civil Administration wanted to introduce alternatives to handle environmental hazards, instead of the proposal to transfer the waste to a landfill site in the Jenin region which cannot absorb the amount of trash that would be moved from Qalqilya.

    “The idea is to introduce the Palestinian residents to what is being done, and thus demonstrate that there are many ways to rehabilitate sites that pose environmental hazards,” said the head of the Ephraim District Coordination and Liaison Administration. By the end of the tour, it was clear that the guests from Qalqilya had learned a lot and were inspired by the vast possibilities of waste management. They expressed interest in implementing what they had learned on the tour.