The truck full of garbage rumbles up to the Qulayah garbage depot and tips out the waste. Immediately municipal workers begin sorting the rubbish into different piles, differentiating organic waste from recyclable plastics, aluminum and glass.After nearly a year of inactivity the depot is fully operational.

UNIFIL’s Spanish Battalion had donated funds to fix the dynamo on the biodegrade machine and to repair its conveyor belt. 

Deputy Mayor, Ronith Daher, watches the sorting and explains why it was environmentally necessary to repair the machines.
“We have had this factory for sorting out the garbage for several years, but the machines stopped working and, because the municipality did not have sufficient funds to fix it again, the factory stopped sorting waste for eight months,” she said. “Then the problem emerged, where we had to either burn the garbage or leave it to pile up.”

Because of the donation by UNIFIL’s Spanish contingent the machines were repaired.

A municipality worker switches on the buttons and a loud whirring noise is heard as the biodegrade machine and conveyor belt start up. Over the noise Captain Ramsukh Dukiya, a UNIFIL peacekeeper, elaborates on what is happening, “The garbage from Qulayah town is dumped here and the municipality workers separate the recyclable and non-recyclable materials. The biodegradable elements such as papers and food elements are put inside this biodegrading machine and are converted for reuse as compost for the local farmers.”

As the dark, biodegraded compost emerges on the conveyor belt and sprinkles into a huge pile, Captain Ramsukh notes, “In this way the garbage that may have been damaging the environment here is now being converted into a useful form.”

Ms. Daher is also pleased with the facility. “For the last year the issue of garbage has been one of the main headlines due to air and environmental pollution. And no solution has been figured out to address this problem,” she added. “We are proud here in Qulayah that this mountainous town, well known for its mountainous and clean environment, is able to get rid of the garbage in a proper way. And definitely the residents are happy they are able to breathe clean air.”

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Article: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
Video Editor: Suzane Badereddine, Mohammad Hamze
Video Camera: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
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