Under the slogan “Sort Today for a Blooming Tomorrow”, Ramallah Municipality announced launching the pilot project to separate the solid waste from a group of neighborhoods in Ramallah, as of the upcoming August 11.
Mr. Kamal Daibes, Member of the Municipal Council, indicated that “the project is launched within Ramallah Municipality’s efforts to reduce the volume of waste sent daily to the landfill, in order to alleviate the negative environmental effects and encourage sustainable practices in solid waste management in Ramallah. The project will include the separation of recyclable (organic and plastic waste) items per source of production; sorting per the source is the best method to restore as much as possible of recyclable waste, as opposed to the mechanic separation of mixed solid waste, which is a very costly procedure and requires technologies that are not available in the city”.
Mr. Rushdi Ghalayini, Bank of Palestine’s Deputy General Manager, confirmed that the Bank’s sponsorship to this project is due to its social responsibility and is in line with its vision towards a clean and healthy environment for our Palestinian society. Mr. Ghalayini indicated that this project is an essential part of the sustainability strategy, which is adopted by Bank of Palestine to achieve long-term comprehensive sustainability, and to build a robust national economy and a sustainable healthy environment within our society, capable to take a distinctive role towards support and development regionally through a sustainable and emergent manner.
Mr. Ghalayini also praised the partnership between Bank of Palestine and Ramallah Municipality, which is culminated annually through developmental projects that contribute in maintaining continuous development for the people in Ramallah, in various field, particularly health and environment. This is in line with the Bank’s sustainability policy, which focuses on supporting projects that preserve the environment. He confirmed that the Bank allocates 6% of its annual net profit towards social responsibility programs. Mr. Ghalayini aspires that this project will be applied in all Palestinian cities and governorates, to become a national project that includes all private and governmental institutions.
Ramallah city produces nearly 72 tons of solid waste on daily basis; 60% of which are recyclable.
The project includes the distribution of special containers to accommodate organic and plastic waste per source of production within the new neighborhoods in Ramallah. The organic waste will be processed in Beitillu Station for Organic Fertilizer Production. The plastic waste will be recycled at a plastic granules factory in Ramallah, in which it can be re-used in the manufacturing of new plastic products.
This project also includes the implementation of an awareness campaign to raise the environmental awareness and to promote the importance of proper management of solid waste. In addition to introducing the targeted neighborhoods to their roles in order for this initiative to succeed. Training workshops will be conducted for the residents of these neighborhoods, in cooperation with House of Water and Environment, and they will be provided with printed instructions that include all needed guidelines related to separating the waste.