In Kabul, the capital's 3M inhabitants are currently producing some 2,500 ton of domestic refuse every day. It's a colossal task for the city sanitation department.
The sheer amount of rubbish is overwhelming capacity for removal. With only 115 refuse trucks city-wide, around 1750 ton, some 70%, goes uncollected every day.
Security issues have exacerbated efforts to bring personnel and equipment to bear on this problem. Yet it's not just an issue of buying new trucks or hiring new staff. With a transient population creating entire new neighborhoods, sometimes even finding the rubbish is a challenge.
"Rubbish is an environmental hazard, because when it mixes with the dust and wind, it spreads diseases such as skin infections and diarrhea," says Zemarai Haseen, a consultant pediatrician at Kabul University .
Kabul is not alone in facing this problem – it is being replicated in cities across the country. Now, government is determined to take the fight to the streets.
Habib Ghori, Head of Kabul's Municipal Sanitation Department, is taking a national lead. He has set up experimental schemes to encourage residents to clean up their own environment. Sanitation Authority officials have distributed free plastic bags in a number of city neighborhoods, paying 10 cents for every full bag delivered to a central collection point. Enterprising residents have collected an impressive 179,000 cubic meters of rubbish for removal from the capital.
In association with United Nations HABITAT, which promotes better living conditions, city officials have also instituted initiated a health awareness education program. Public health workers have made over 170,000 visits to schools, colleges and homes to promote good sanitation awareness.
Ghulam Mohammad Malikyar, head of Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency, is also pushing for action. He is stressing enforcement of Afghan Law prohibiting the burning of waste. "Burning in the open is strictly forbidden under Afghan law," he says. "The smoke is making people sick and damaging the environment."
International Forces have been doing their part too. ISAF Forces at Baghram Airfield have committed to installing low-emission waste disposal furnaces. "International Forces care about the environment," said an ISAF press officer. "Spot checks have been instituted to ensure contractors are carrying out proper practice."
Partnership initiatives across the country are bearing fruit. In Uruzgan province, at the request of Tarin Kot municipal officials, 50 waste disposal containers were put to use. Municipal cleaners in bright blue overalls and orange vests swept large parts of the city clean. They emptied drains and dumpsites and collected refuse from sidewalks and footpaths in the Kaman bazaar and residential areas. Four large garbage trucks relieved the city of some 5,800 loads of accumulated waste.
It's all part of an organized initiative by afghan city authorities that have seen individually tailored program deliver waste disposal trucks and bins to Tarin Kot, Kandahar City, Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Zaranj in Nimroz province, Nili in Daikondi province and Qalat in Zabul province.
All Afghans are being urged to join in a collective effort to clean up the environment. As Habib Ghori, Head of Kabul's Sanitation, says: "Co-operation is the only way to solve this problem. People should play their own part in keeping their city clean."
After the recent clean-up, Tarin Kot residents would agree. "It's not only that it's clean to the eye now, but the foul smell is gone too. People do not want to shop in a dirty place," says Rahimullah, a young man who owns a small grocery shop. "The municipality is doing something for us." And just as importantly, the people are gaining inspiration to preserve that healthy environment by putting garbage away properly and picking up near where they live
Picture: courtesy of ICMA international.
By Eismat ullah Katawazi