Litter makes up major portion of waste — Environment Ministry

AMMAN (JT) — A total of 106 tonnes of waste has been collected since the Environment Ministry’s launch of the nationwide campaign “With determination, we protect our environment” last Tuesday, the ministry said.

This campaign, launched as part of the Ministry of Environment’s National Plan for Environmental Awareness, aims to raise the “sense of citizenship”, according to a ministry statement.

“The collected waste will be transferred to the Greater Amman Municipality’s landfills, where it will be sorted out and recycled,” Ahman Obeidat, the Environment Ministry’s spokesperson, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

Many citizens have willingly volunteered in this campaign and with additional civil society organisations, Obeidat added.

“Unfortunately, most of the collected waste was from littering,” Obeidat said.

Public Security Directorate officials have started imposing fines on any offender caught littering, he said, noting that penalties start from JD50 to reach JD1,000 and imprisonment of no less than a week.

The cleanup campaign included historical sites, forests, public parks, main streets, among others

The Environment Ministry urged citizens and residents to take a part in this campaign as littering poses a major risk for the environment.

The tourism sector holds great benefits for the local economy. Tourists come to Jordan to enjoy the beauty of our country’s landscape and nature, Ahmad Samarah, an adventure tourism guide, said.

“Tourists are always wondering why people litter!” Samarah added. “The problem we have here is that people do not feel responsible for public areas, or they are just too lazy to dispose the trash in a proper place,” he said.