August 25th, 2009 @ kadraoui
98,000 tonne garbage haul from governorate
AROUND 98,000 tonnes of garbage was collected in the Capital Governorate in the first half of this year, it was announced yesterday.
Cleaning company GCCC removed a daily average of 533 tonnes under careful supervision to ensure that nothing is left behind, said a top municipal official.
He said that 62 per cent of the governorate’s waste was domestic, while building refuse accounted for around 21pc, commercial for 15pc and agricultural for 2.5pc.
A total of 1,280 carcasses were also removed from the street, in addition to 61 abandoned cars.
Manama Municipality director-general Yousif Al Ghatam said that waste was being removed round the clock to ensure that nothing remained at the beginning of the next day in any dumpster or doorstep.
“Cleanliness is an Islamic principle that everyone should abide to, which is the case with most people in the governorate,” he said.
“However, there are some who have to further commit to leading a clean life.
“Yes, it is our job to keep the place clean, but it is the people’s role to ensure that waste is at an acceptable level.”
The GDN reported earlier in the month that municipal officials expected domestic waste in the governorate to increase by five-fold during Ramadan.
This attributed to the fact that people in general cook irresponsibly during Ramadan, which results in an increase in kitchen waste.
The Manama Municipal Council said it was concerned that sanitation workers would simply be unable to cope with the massive increase in household rubbish.
It now plans to launch a campaign to stress the virtues of cooking responsibly.
Municipality technical services director Nawfal Al Kooheji told the GDN yesterday that the cleaning company used 22 trucks to remove all garbage from the governorate’s streets daily.
“The company empties around 4,616 large dumpsters daily and is doing its best to ensure that nothing is left behind,” he said.
“It is unhealthy for garbage to be left unattended to as it emits bad odours and attracts insects. This is something that no one wants to happen, especially in highly populated neighbourhoods.
“There is a support of 203 cleaners who walk around the governorate’s alleys 24-hours-a-day to clean-up whatever is thrown between collection schedules and ensure that the roads are swept.”
Tags: Garbage, Gulf Daily News, Press