A Palestinian plant has succeeded for the first time in recycling solid waste from throughout the Rafah governorate in the far south of the Gaza Strip, in an attempt to overcome the serious environmental crisis that Gaza is facing. The crisis has erupted due to an accumulation of waste, and this plan aims to benefit from the waste to provide products that could save money, especially in the agricultural sector.

Nearly ten months ago, the Environmental Friends’ Association in Rafah city established a plant that extended over an area of ​​eight dunums [2 acres], to address the environmental disaster facing the city. The environmental threat increased with the disposal of solid waste that has occurred over the past years, in a "dump” located to the east of the city and covering an area of ​​nearly 40 dunums. There were insects there that transmit diseases to people and the dump leaks organic materials into the groundwater after decomposition has started.

Engineer and plant supervisor Mohamad al-Nairab explained the mechanism that is involved in the process. Municipal vehicles collect waste from houses and transfer them to the collection station in the plant. The waste is then put in the sorting line in the receiving station and undergoes automatic sorting, then multi-format manual sorting.

He noted that Rafah produces between 100 and 120 tons of solid waste daily. They are divided into two categories: organic material that usually consists of food remains and non-organic material that includes cartons, metal, aluminum, glass and other materials. Some materials are beneficial and are recycled, while others are transferred to the dump. The latter’s virtual lifespan will increase from 10 years to 30 years, due to the reduction of the waste proportion transferred to it.