Evaluation of solid waste management in northern West Bank, Palestine

Abstract

Solid waste is one of the most important challenges facing the developed and developing a population numbering and their development. Study area consists of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit districts. The main objectives of this study are: 1) the assessment of public acceptance of the establishment of a recycling plant in Salfit District 2) the evaluation of the impacts of Zahrat Al-Finjan landfill on residents living in the surrounding communities of Jenin district, and 3) the evaluation of the joint service councils’ performance in the Districts of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit in terms of the financial situation and level of service provided. About 98% of the residents in Salfit district have a solid waste (SW) collection system. There are variations in SW collection frequency between urban and rural areas. Solid waste fee in Salfit district ranges between 10 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) to 15 New Israeli Shekel (NIS) per month. The fee is collected with electricity bill where payment obligation is 99%. Salfit district disposes waste into open dumps. There is a large asset that reaches 98% of Salfit district residents to build a plant that recycles waste. The residents, within a distance less than 1,000 meters from the Zahrat Al-Finjan (ZF) landfill, suffer from odors emitted and the spread of insects, rodents and stray animals. These are the most important problems of the residents of the Zahrat Al-Finjan landfill surrounding area. VI The work of the joint service councils is limited to the provision of solid waste management services. The joint service councils of Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit collect daily around 250, 77, 100, 70 tons of solid waste, respectively. From invoices issued in 2014, it is clear that all councils suffer from a deficit in the budget so that expenditures are much more than revenues for many reasons. There are weak laws and regulations governing the solid waste sector with overlapping authorities. In the study area there are two ways to dispose solid waste: sanitary landfills or random dump sites. The most important obstacles that hinder the joint service councils from performing their role efficiently are the financial matters, the fluctuation of funding provided to councils from the government or grants from abroad, and the inability to fully collect revenues from local councils and municipalities. It is recommended to encourage the private sector to invest in the solid waste sector especially in recycling. For Zahrat Al-Finjan landfill must Subjecting to more frequent monitoring by the responsible authorities, and increased financial support for further development and improvement works on landfill. Need to increase public awareness about the role and work of the joint service councils