New strategy warns of dangers plastics pose to environment
Jordan Times
Jul. 12, 2007
Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Jordan Environment Society (JES) to implement a comprehensive awareness programme aimed at reducing the use of plastics and encouraging the segregation of waste materials.
"The agreement seeks to familiarise people on the importance of recycling plastic materials and the dangerous impact of plastic bags on the environment," Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said at the signing ceremony.
We need to encourage people on using environment-friendly alternatives, Irani added.
Meanwhile, the ministry's spokesperson, Isa Shboul, underlined the negative impact of plastics on the environment.
"Each plastic bag or bottle takes 80 years to decay. Through this period, it's harming the soil, water resources and killing livestock which eat it while grazing," Shboul said.
He suggested using paper bags instead of plastics, adding that it had proved to be an environment-friendly alternative.
Irani said the ministry is keen on increasing cooperation with civil society institutions to preserve the country's resources and raise people's awareness on environment-related issues.
He said several awareness campaigns will be implemented soon in cooperation with the country's environment societies to curb the use of plastic materials and encourage segregating solid wastes.
In December last year, the Free Zones Corporation opened three recycling plants, worth JD6 million, to reduce wastes. The plants recycle around 120 tonnes of liquid and solid waste daily, including plastics, scrap tyres, iron and industrial oil.
Under the five-month agreement, poster and brochure campaigns will encourage the use of paper bags and waste segregation and will target schools, hotels and other institutions.
A technical committee comprising members from the ministry and the JES will be formed to follow up on the implementation of the agreement's projects.
The JES is implementing a recycling project that seeks to preserve national recourses and reduce solid wastes in order to relieve pressure on dumps.
The project encourages people to participate in preserving the environment and urges the local community to collect and segregate wastes into glass, plastics, and paper wastes, each in a separate container.
JES, established in 1988, is a nonprofit NGO concerned with protecting the environment and preserving its basic elements of water, air, soil and living beings, according to its website.