A study into the impact of Waste Management in Dohuk, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan
Introduction
The northern region of Iraq is known as Iraqi Kurdistan. Long has it been the vacations spot of the various leaders and kings that have ruled the surrounding land. The mountains of Kurdistan offer a cool respite from the summer heat below, and the gently running streams gurgle their way through their chiseled paths in Kurdistan’s ruggedly beautiful landscape. Yet this beauty is under attack. Imagine a not to distant future where the Kurdish people are driven from their lands, not by a ruthless dictator or warring tribes. Instead they will be kicked out by something so small it can only be seen under a microscope. This is Kurdistan’s future unless they act now.
You do not have to walk far in Kurdistan anymore to see the evidence of environmental pollution. Every lake and stream is polluted with strewn garbage. Plastic bags are caught in trees, and broken glass seems to litter every gathering place in the country. During the day you can see the smoke of garbage fires releasing toxins into the air as the people burn plastics, cardboard, household filth, and biodegradable waste. Inside the cities the streets are choked with filth strewn everywhere. When you ask the people why they do not care about keeping their city clean, they always ask “why should we care.”
That is an excellent question. Why should someone care about keeping their city clean when there is no continuous power, when the average wage is only $100 per month, when there are more college graduates then jobs and the majority of those jobs are in government offices, and when 18 year old soldiers make more money then university professors. Why should they care?
Effects of Improper Waste Remediation
Over the past several decades, major changes in waste composition have taken place with the introduction of synthetic products and packaging derived from hydrocarbons and chlorine including plastics, solvent, bleach or pesticides. Recent regulations ban hazardous substances and waste dangerous goods but many of these toxic materials are found at municipal waste disposal grounds as either components of packaging, household cleaning products or products. These materials may represent a much greater danger to public health and the environment than common materials found in household waste
Burned under conditions found in burning barrels or waste disposal grounds such as low temperature ranges (250 C to 700 C), oxygen-starved conditions and the presence of hydrochloric acid or chlorine, mixed garbage will produce several different air toxics. These include total dioxins and furans, total volatile organic compounds measured as methane, air toxics, metals including antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, phosphorus and titanium, particulate matter (PM), hydrogen chloride (HCl), carbon monoxide (CO) and oxides of sulfur and nitrogen.
Burning activities at waste disposal grounds affects several groups of people associated with the site's activities. These include users of the waste disposal ground, maintenance people, local area residents, businesses, land owners and possibly children who may be attracted to the site especially if it is close to a community. In Iraqi-Kurdistan waste disposal grounds are located a short distance from the communities they serve. The growth of these cities is causing encroachment on existing waste disposal grounds establishing many concerns for the populace in those towns.
It is difficult to determine the exact emissions at each site due to the many variables affecting the burn. The time of year, climate (wind and ambient temperature), type of community (urban, rural or recreational), compactness of the refuse pile, moisture content and available recycling opportunities affect the household waste composition and the chemical compounds in resulting pollutants when they are burned. The relatively low temperatures associated with open burning increase emissions of particulates, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. Sulfur oxide emissions are a function of the refuse's sulfur content.
Common Forms of Airborne Pollutants from burning Trash
There are many pollutants that are released with burning a community’s trash. Particulate matter is the general term for particles of soot and dust in the atmosphere. Particulates are composed of organic matter and compounds containing sulfur, nitrogen and metals. These particles may be inhaled and irritate the respiratory system and prolonged inhalation may increase the number and severity of chronic respiratory disease cases.
Sulfur oxides may be released if refuse being burned contains sulfur compounds. Studies of serious air pollution occasions found an increase in mortalities among people with existing heart and lung disease. Even when concentrations are below what may be considered serious; there may be a noticeable increase in acute and chronic respiratory disease cases. Healthy people may experience sore throats, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Sulfur oxides can cause vegetation damage, corrode many materials and contribute to acid rain.
Carbon monoxide is a common pollutant which may be released from the incomplete combustion of municipal waste. This compound binds chemically to the hemoglobin in the blood stream, the substance which carries oxygen to the heart, brain and other body tissues. Exposure to carbon monoxide causes dizziness, headaches, slowed reflexes and reduces the ability to perform physical exercise. Even at relatively low concentrations, carbon monoxide can affect mental function, visual acuity and alertness.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) refers to a large group of compounds which may be released during the incomplete burning in municipal landfills of almost any kind of organic material including fats, meat, coffee, rubber and other material. Many VOCs are known to have direct toxic effects on humans, ranging from cancer risks to nervous system disorders. VOCs also contribute to the formation of ground level ozone (smog). Elevated ozone levels have been shown to cause adverse health effects on the human respiratory system and are strongly suspected of playing a role in the long term development of chronic lung disease. Ozone effects on vegetation damage are well documented with millions of dollars estimated in crop damage in certain areas of Canada due to elevated ozone levels.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are VOCs, are the primary contributors to stratospheric ozone level depletion and are involved in the global warming effect.
Nitrogen Oxides (NO) may be released in the open burning of municipal refuse. Certain nitrogen compounds may cause adverse health effects to the human respiratory system. The primary concerns with NO emissions are their contribution to the formation of ground level ozone and acid rain. To a lesser extent, some NO compounds contribute to stratospheric ozone layer depletion and global warming.
Health and Environmental Conditions of Pollutants
With all of these pollutants from burning there are significant environmental and health effects. The Particulate Matter causes Irritation of respiratory tract, aggravated asthma, and contributes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The environmental effects are increased toxic loading on the environment, and lead to contaminated water/land and affects animal health.
Sulfur oxides cause Increase in heart/lung disease, acute/chronic respiratory disease. Healthy people experience shortness of breath, sore throats, and breathing difficulties. Environmentally sulfur oxide causes vegetative damage, corrodes many materials, and contributes to acid rain (forests, aquatic and urban environments i.e. structures).
Carbon Monoxide causes dizziness, headaches and slowed reflexes, affects mental function, visual acuity and alertness. Environmentally it oxidizes to carbon dioxide (which is a greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is directly toxic this includes problems ranging from cancer risks to nervous disorders, causes respiratory irritation/illness, chronic lung disease. Environmentally VOC contributes to low level ozone (smog), causes vegetative damage. Leads to contaminated water/land, and affects animal health.
Nitrogen Oxides causes respiratory illness, fluid collection in the lungs and fibrotic changes. Environmentally Nitrogen Oxide contributes to acid rain and ozone formation.
Polynuclear Hydrocarbons may cause cancer. Environmentally they increase toxic loading on the environment, lead to contaminated water/land, and affects animal health.
Aldehydes cause eye and respiratory tract irritation, and headaches. It is also an animal carcinogen. Environmentally it leads to increased toxic loading on the environment, leads to contaminated water/land, and affects animal health.
Dioxins and Furans may cause cancer, causes growth defects, affects DNA, and affects immune and reproductive systems. Environmentally they increase toxic loading on the environment, leads to contaminated water/land, and affects animal health.
Heavy Metals (such as Mercury) are highly toxic. Heavy metals collect in the human system until a lethal dosage is reached this causes respiratory/intestinal problems. Environmentally they increase the toxic loading on the environment, lead to contaminated water/land, and affects animal health.
Hydrochloric Acid causes irritation of the respiratory tract, respiratory illness, and dulls the body's senses. Environmentally increase toxic loading on the environment, leads to contaminated water and land, and affects animal health.
Hydrogen Sulfide (H S) is toxic causing respiratory disease. In healthy people they experience shortness of breath, sore throats, breathing difficulties, and irritated eyes. Environmentally it contributes to acid rain, may damage vegetation, and causes offensive odors.
Integrated Waste Management
In order to handle growing volumes of wastes, the proper policies need to be enacted and implemented. The approach to waste management regarded as the most compatible with an environmentally sustainable development is called “Integrated Waste Management.” This approach consists of a hierarchical and coordinated set of actions that reduces pollution, seeks to maximize recovery of reusable and recyclable materials, and protects human health and the environment. Integrated Waste Management aims to be socially desirable, economically viable and environmentally sound. The Integrated Waste Management approach can be adapted to the specific conditions evident in Dohuk and Kurdistan.
Waste Prevention
Waste prevention is given the highest priority in Integrated Waste Management. This is a preventive action that seeks to reduce the amount of waste that individuals, businesses and other organizations generate. By not creating waste, fewer collection vehicles and a fewer number of refuse collectors would be needed; fewer and smaller waste handling facilities would be required, and it would extend the life of the landfills. Society as a whole would be benefited from a successful implementation of a waste prevention program. There are several ways in which waste generation can be prevented:
· By enacting public policies that discourage the production, sale and consumption of products containing unnecessary packaging material
· By enacting public policies that discourage the production, sale and consumption of disposable products
· By enacting public policies that encourage the production, sale and consumption of reusable or recyclable products
· By enacting public policies that encourage the production, sale and consumption of long-lasting products (which do not have to be discarded often)
· By enacting public policies that promote the consumption of large-size products. The amount of packaging material –plastics, glass or metal– needed to contain a kilogram or liter of a product decreases as the size of a product increases. In other words, larger bottles and containers require less material per unit of product than smaller ones. When they are discarded, it results in less waste that needs to be collected, transported and disposed of
· By enacting public policies that encourage the production, sale and consumption of repairable products (that do not have to be discarded when they malfunction)
· By minimizing the weight of products. Public policies could encourage the production, sale and consumption of light-weight products (which, when discarded, would result in a reduction of the weight of the waste to be collected, transported and disposed of)
Reuse
Once the waste prevention program has been implemented, the next priority in an Integrated Waste Management approach is promoting the reuse of products and materials.
Reuse consists in the recovery of items to be used again, perhaps after some cleaning and refurbishing. Reusing materials and products saves energy and water, reduces pollution, and lessens society’s consumption of natural resources compared to the use of single-use products and materials.
Reuse of materials and products is regarded as more socially desirable than recycling the same materials. Beverage bottles –soda or beer bottles– can be disposable, returnable (reusable) or recyclable. Reusable bottles have the lowest environmental impact of the three, while disposable bottles require the most energy, water and generate the largest amount of waste and pollution.
Even though private companies have created reuse programs on their own, if public policies existed to promote it, reuse could dramatically increase. Public policies that provide incentives for businesses and individuals to engage in reuse can have a significant and positive economic and environmental impact.
Recycling
After the reuse of materials and products, recycling comes next in the Integrated Waste Management hierarchy. Recycling is the recovery of materials for melting them, re-pulping them and reincorporating them as raw materials. It is technically feasible to recycle a large amount of materials, such as plastics, wood, metals, glass, textiles, paper, cardboard, rubber, ceramics, and leather. Demand determines the types and amounts of materials that are recycled in a particular region.
Recycling can render social, economic, and environmental benefits. It provides an income to the scavengers who recover recyclable materials. Factories that consume recyclable materials can be built for a fraction of the cost of building plants that consume virgin materials. Recycling saves energy, water, and generates less pollution than obtaining virgin raw materials, which translates into lower operating costs. Recycling also reduces the amount of wastes that need to be collected, transported and disposed of, and extends the life of disposal facilities, which saves money to the municipalities. Recycling can result in a more competitive economy and a cleaner environment, and can contribute to a more sustainable development.
Recycling can be conducted in a number of ways. In the developed world, municipalities have created recycling programs, which usually involve separation of recyclable materials at the source of generation. In this type of programs, individuals and businesses separate their recyclable materials in a different container and before they are mixed with the rest of their garbage. The materials commonly separated at the source include metals, glass, paper and plastics. The cleaner and the more homogeneous a material is, the higher the price industry is willing to pay for it. Therefore, source separation is preferable to salvaging materials from mixed wastes.
Material Recovery Facilities have been used in some developed countries. Material Recovery Facilities are plants where recyclables are recovered sorted and processed for sale to industry. They can either process source-separated recyclables from a recycling program, or mixed wastes the way they are collected from residential and other sources. Material Recovery Facilities typically use different types of magnetic and pneumatic equipment, as well as conveyor belts and human sorters to classify the recyclable materials.
In the developing world, municipalities usually lack recycling programs. That does not mean, however, that recycling does not exist. Informal recycling is common throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Scavengers carry out the bulk of recycling of municipal wastes. Scavengers salvage recyclable materials on the streets, before collection crews arrive, at communal refuse dumpsters, at illegal open dumps, as well as at municipal open dumps and landfills.
Scavenging could provide an income to unemployed individuals, recent migrants who have been unable to find employment in the formal sector, women, children, and elderly individuals.
Incineration
In an Integrated Waste Management approach, incineration occupies the next to last priority, after waste prevention, reuse, and recycling have been undertaken. Incineration is the burning of wastes under controlled conditions, usually carried out in an enclosed structure. Incineration may include energy recovery.
Experience with incineration in developing countries has been mostly negative. Incinerators built in Africa, Asia and Latin America did not function as promised. In Lagos, Nigeria, incinerators were built at a cost of U.S. $ 10 million. The moisture content of wastes was so high that fuel had to be added to maintain combustion, which increased costs significantly. The incinerators never operated normally, one was abandoned and the other turned into a community center. Similar experiences have been observed in India, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Turkey. Therefore, incineration of municipal waste is likely to fail in Dohuk and cause physical and environmental hazards.
Sanitary Landfills
Final disposal of wastes at sanitary landfills is given the lowest priority in an Integrated Waste Management approach. A sanitary landfill is a facility designed specifically for the final disposal of wastes that minimizes the risks to human health and the environment associated with solid wastes. Sanitary landfills commonly include one, two or three different liners at the bottom and sides of the disposal area, in order to prevent leachates from polluting nearby surface waters or aquifers. Liners also prevent the underground movement of methane. Waste arriving at landfills is compacted and then covered with a layer of earth, usually every day. This prevents animals from having access to the organic matter to feed. Sanitary landfills may also include other pollution control measures, such as collection and treatment of leachate, and venting or flaring of methane.
It is possible to produce electricity by burning the methane that landfills generate. Extending the life of landfills and diverting as much as possible by waste prevention, reuse, recycling and composting can make economic sense. Diverting materials from landfills can also create jobs, reduce poverty, improve economic competitiveness, reduce pollution and conserve natural resources.
Sanitary landfills are necessary for final disposal of the wastes that could not be prevented, reused, recycled or composted. Ideally, sanitary landfills should be used primarily for non-reusable, non-recyclable and non-compostable residues. Sanitary landfills constitute a dramatic improvement over disposal of wastes in open dumps. Sanitary landfills greatly reduce pollution and risks to human health and the environment compared to open dumping.
Ways to pay for Municipal Garbage Collection
Providing municipal waste collection services is a problem all over the world. This problem is amplified in developing countries like Iraq and especially Kurdistan. Due to low economic backing and limited knowledge on waste remediation techniques these problems are again amplified. One possible solution to these problems is privatization of waste collection services. This will allow better service and improved environmental conditions as well as introducing foreign investment into the municipal equation. Bringing in outside investors and waste remediation companies will also bring in outside knowledge and expertise.
According to a field study by the World Bank and others, “the private delivery of municipal solid waste services can be successful in terms of greater efficiency, coverage and quality of service. Keys to successful private sector involvement in municipal solid waste management include creating contestable markets, establishing an appropriate regulatory framework and operations standards for contractors, and strengthening local government capacity to negotiate contracts and monitor performance. In the simplest terms, the focus must be on competition, transparency, and accountability.” This study is available for use by any municipality and covers many of the issues faced with privatization.
Even when services are provided by a private entity the local and central government is still responsible for ensuring proper collection and disposal and municipal waste. The government can mitigate duties and roles but never the responsibility.
Through establishing proper zones inside of a city and a privatization program a local government can ensure that waste collection and remediation services are provided to their citizens while promoting better business and protecting the environment. For this to happen their must be cooperation and collaboration between the private industry sector and the government. Oversight must be provided to ensure the private sector is meeting all established requirements and the government must provide contracts of adequate length to ensure profit margins will allow for proper remediation techniques to be implemented.
Summary
In Dohuk and Iraqi Kurdistan current waste collection and remediation techniques are inadequate leading to several environmental and health problems and concerns. If left unresolved, this problem will only grow until it is no longer fixable. Even with this scenario a possibility Dohuk and Iraqi Kurdistan can still change. Through a more aggressive public policy and introduction of privatized services Dohuk can ensure the health of their people and their environment for generations to come.
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Friday, March 2, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Developing an Environmental Consciousness in Iraqi-Kurdistan
A report on the environmental conditions of Iraqi-Kurdistan
Walking through the street in Iraqi-Kurdistan you get a feel for the need of an improved garbage collection system. Paper, metal, plastics, cardboard, and all matter of waste are washed down the streets already performing the duties of exposed sewer lines and pedestrian thoroughfares. The filth clogs drains forcing everything behind it to build up until enough force is created to push the mess further down the street clogging up the next drain creating a chain reaction that ends with sewage and garbage seeping into and contaminating local and downstream water supplies. As Northern Iraq is the headwaters for the Tigris, and the Euphrates Rivers this means that downstream is the rest of the Middle East.
The United Nation Environment Program has stated that roughly 80% of marine debris originates from land-based sources and activities. In addition, plastics make up 90% of floating marine debris.
Plastics have been found in the digestive tracts of over 100 species of seabirds. In fact, by 1998, the Marine Mammal Commission reported that marine debris had affected at least 267 animal species around the world. It is also important to note that one piece of rubbish can kill more than one animal in its litter lifespan.
Even with this type of an impact little concern is given for the environment. The largest concerns in this area are a lack of continuous electrical power, the rising price of fuel, and a lack of clean drinking water. Limited thought and effort can be placed on new business ideas that deal with the environment. Focus is often diverted from long term implications to short term gains. Little thought is being placed on tomorrow. The irony is that having a longer term vision of environmental conscience has proven time and again to positively affect these short term concerns precisely because short term solutions deal with symptoms rather than root causes.
One of the largest contributors to accumulated waste is the unequal balance of imports to exports. As a developing country, Iraqi-Kurdistan has imports that far outnumber its exports. The imports that Iraqi-Kurdistan sees are increasing their content of plastics. The characteristics that increasingly make plastic the manufacturing and packaging material of choice, i.e. light weight, durable, less expensive, also make it a challenge to collect and recycle. Plastic materials when released into the environment can also be a visual blight and harmful to wildlife. Nor does plastics debris degrade in the environment; instead it tends to accumulate, creating long-term environmental problems.
The only real form of wealth accumulation in Iraqi-Kurdistan is from external support or from the sale of oil. Due to the Oil for Food program even produce is brought in from other countries instead of being created in the fertile plains of Iraqi-Kurdistan thereby destroying the local farming culture. Everyone is moving out of the villages and into the cities. To make up for this growth cities have been reaching further outward and upward. This has increased population density and growing with it is the amount of litter, garbage, waste materials, refuse, or whatever else you want to call it. The majority of this garbage is collected and placed in a local collection spot where it is burnt.
Dioxin is one of the many pollutants given off from burning of trash. Dioxin is a catchall term for three chemical groups: true dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The most dangerous form of dioxin, 2,3,7,8 -tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxcin (or its abbreviation, 2378 - TCDD), has been called "the most lethal human-made poison." Its toxicity is second only to radioactive waste; just three ounces would be enough to kill one million people. Even at levels less than one part per billion, it can cause serious health impairments. It was once used in Agent Orange, the Vietnam-era herbicide that continues to cause health problems for many American veterans exposed over thirty years ago. Dioxin contamination at Love Canal (Niagara Falls, NY) forced hundreds of families to abandon their homes.
Given off in large quantities by burning plastics and paper, dioxin accumulates in the soil in areas surrounding burn sites. Ground-level concentrations of dioxin resulting from burning household garbage in a burn barrel are 7,000 times more then the amount formed when garbage is burned in a resource recovery facility. Slow to break down, dioxins linger for centuries in the affected area and are absorbed into plants that grow in the contaminated soil. Animals that eat these plants absorb the dioxin, and ultimately dioxin makes its way to humans who eat the animals or crops grown in this soil. Dioxin does not break down or pass out of our bodies; it accumulates in our fat cells.
Ash and other particulate matter can irritate the eyes and throat, damage the lungs, cause bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, and restrict visibility. It can seriously affect people with asthma or certain allergies. Burn barrel ash laden with heavy metals is particularly toxic, and often seeps into ground water.
To prevent an even greater tragedy Iraq needs to start addressing their trash problem. Simple changes need to be made first and foremost. The first change that needs to be made is to stop bringing the trash up into the mountains. It is better to have the trash collected in lower areas that will not contaminate downstream resources. The second major undertaking is to separate the trash that is collected into recyclables, hazardous materials, and biodegradable waste.
The recyclable materials need to be collected and either processed in country or exported for profit. Successful recovery of plastics -- like any material -- requires an infrastructure that can get plastics from the consumer and back into use as new products. The plastics recycling infrastructure has four parts:
Collection-Rather than being thrown away, plastics (primarily PETand HDPE) are collected for recycling. Curbside collection with other materials and drop-off at recycling centers are common plastics collection methods.
Handling-Plastics from collection programs are sorted to increase their value and compacted to reduce shipping costs.
Reclamation-In conventional recycling, sorted plastics are chopped, washed and converted into flakes or pellets that are then processed into new products. Advanced recycling technologies can take mixed plastics back to their original building blocks (monomers or petroleum feedstocks). These can then be recycled into a number of different products, including new plastics.
End-use-Reclaimed plastic pellets or flakes-or petroleum feedstocks-are used to manufacture new products.
The variety of products made with recycled plastics is growing. Here are just a few examples:
· Recycled PET can be used in producing deli and bakery trays, carpets, clothing and textiles.
· Recycled HDPE can become bottles for laundry produ cts, recycling bins, agricultural pipe, bags, motor oil bottles, decking and marine pilings.
· Recycled vinyl can become playground equipment, film and airbubble cushioning.
· Recycled LDPE can be used to manufacture bags, shrink film and compost bins.
· Recycled PP can be used in automobile parts, carpets, battery casings, textiles, industrial fibers and films used for packaging products such as candy.
· Recycled PS can be used in products including office accessories, video cassettes and cases.
All hazardous materials need to be placed in suitable containment facilities and treated until they are benign or they can be disposed of with the least environmental impact. Biodegradable waste can then be accumulated and contained to enable the methane to be trapped and used as an energy creation facility. The decomposed waste can then be turned into humus that can be sold as nutrient rich soil.
As these programs are developed, a large scale population education program has to take place teaching the locals the methodology behind the “reduce-reuse-recycle” campaign. Care will have to be given to promote an environmental social conscience that will allow for a sustainable future in Iraq. At the current rate of expansion in Northern Iraq coupled with the waste management practices used today, Northern Iraqi cities will soon be swimming in their own filth. The amount of pollutions caused by the cities will contaminate the drinking water and release pollutants into the air leading to widespread disease and death. There are many diseases and problems that are already noted as being caused by burning trash and having plastics in the environment.
In 2004 Dr. Sarah (Steve) Mosko, Ph.D did research into “What Else Is In Plastic.” Her studies discovered that many “stabilizers” are placed in plastics to ensure that they remain rigid during use. These stabilizers can separate from the plastic and be absorbed into the human body. The manufacturing of these plastics will also release more and more contaminants into the environment. Recycling these plastics will decrease the amount of harmful stabilizers released into the atmosphere from production and into the ground from burying and the air from burning. The toxins in plastics buried and burned is realeased into the environment causing Decreased rates of pregnancy and higher rates of miscarriage along with other pregnancy complications. Children with Asthma were noticed to have an increased amount of plastic toxins in their urine. Males who have noticed a decrease in their sperm count and increase in testicular cancer were all noticed to have higher levels of phthalates (a stabilizer found in plastics) in their urine.
Ensuring that hazardous materials do not make their way into the ground water, soil, and atmosphere is the responsibility of whoever is in power in Iraqi-Kurdistan but is an area of concern for anyone who gets water from the Tigris or Euphrates Rivers. The wholesale pollution of these headwaters is affecting all of the downstream populace. Efforts need to be put in place immediately to stem the flow of toxins from trash into the environment. Only when the supply is stopped can anything be done about the pollutants that are already there.
The first step in this process is for the Kurdistan Regional Government to appoint a Minister of Refuse Collection and Remediation in the Ministry for the Environment. This Minister would be in charge of ensuring waste management facilities in all areas of Kurdistan meet international requirements for health concerns. This minister would also be responsible for ensuring all future expansion planning has environmental impact assessments (EIA) done prior to the commencement of any work. This will allow an integrated environmental management (IEM) plan to take precedence in the country minimizing environmental impact of progress. The Minister is intended to guide, rather than impede the development process by providing an approach to gathering and analyzing information, and ensuring that it can be easily understood by all interested and affected parties in the development. The purpose of this ministry is to resolve or lessen any negative environmental impacts and to enhance positive aspects of development proposals.
The second step in this process is for the Kurdistan Regional Government to work with local Municipality Ministries to facilitate changes in trash collection and processing procedures. Educational campaigns would have to be undertaken to utilize trash separation practices at the lowest levels. Trash receptacles would be clearly marked at public areas, homes, and businesses for recyclable materials, biodegradable trash, and hazardous materials. This trash could be collected on different days, or by different vehicles. Biodegradable and recyclable trash could be collected by private entities, which have special permission from the ministry. Hazardous waste would be collected by the municipalities for sorting and proper remediation at the waste collection facility. The utmost care would be taken to limit environmental impact during the collection, processing, and storage practice.
The recycling aspect is best approached by a private entity, with government backing, that is set up to process the recyclables and sell them to outside buyers. These recyclables can be baled and shipped out of the country or they can be processed into usable base materials. These materials may then be exported or used by manufacturers in the region. As Kurdistan is land locked, private companies would need government assistance to set up recycling centers that would be able to handle the needs of the community. Helping companies offset the cost of setting up recycling centers would be cheaper for the KRG then establishing, running, and maintaining a recycling center on its own. In turn, the impact of reusing the generated waste has a value beyond compare. Government assistance could include donation of land for recycling centers, assistance in the collection of recyclable materials, separation of recyclable materials in existing landfills, and waiving of fees and taxes for businesses involved in the recycling operation.
Biodegradable waste will need to be taken away from the city and placed in a facility that can trap the methane emitted during decomposition. The escaping methane can be burned in an electricity generator allowing power generation to be utilized by the facility and extra power to be sold back to the main grid. When the waste has decomposed into humus it can then be packaged and sold as fertilizer or soil. This humus can be used to revitalize farmland without the use of pesticides, insecticides, and harmful toxins used in chemically enhanced soil nutrients. This will lead to larger farm yields and increased competitive advantage for local farmers. This program can be undertaken by the city or by a private entity. Similar means of support for the recycling centers can be used for the biodegradable waste center with the possible addition of government purchase of the humus for distribution to farmers.
Once these programs are in place, care can be given to clean Kurdistan of all waste materials that are collecting in the rivers, hills, cities, and environment. This will increase the beauty of Kurdistan bolstering tourist revenues, and improving the quality of life of the people in Kurdistan and all of the Middle East. This community clean up program can be accomplished by using manpower to simply go around the community and pick up all of the trash that is lying around and placing it in the proper trash receptacles. The manpower for this can be garnered from local schools, universities, businesses, and corrections institutions. Care can be taken to instruct government funded agencies when and where the cleanup needs to take place. A medial campaign can be launched to caste a favorable light upon volunteering ones’ time to such a cause.
The media will play a major role in the success of this campaign. The public needs to be informed on the importance of recycling and keeping their city clean. This may not be considered a priority when there is no continuous electrical power or clean drinking water, but these problems are not mutually exclusive. The dirty water is part of the pollution problem due to poor garbage collection and remediation practices. Lack of continuous electrical power is in-part due to poor electrical practices that cause a conglomerate of wasted wiring to be strung from building to building without a care for removal of old wires when new ones are put in. These wires still carry an electrical load and cause for the power limit to be reached far sooner then would be necessitated if better power management practices were in place.
Once these practices are agreed upon and put in place an Environmental Audit should be done by an official auditing firm from Europe or America. At that point they auditing team will point our areas that still need improvement and give ideas on how to improve these areas. The initial cost will be considerable but with adopting environmentally friendly practices an area can run more efficiently and reduce overall costs for the locale. Non-first world countries have to learn to live within the means of their country. Without a program to ensure a streamlined environmental and economical policy a non-first world country will soon find itself without the economic power to support its own population.
As a newly forming and developing nation Kurdistan has the chance to ensure that its progress is inline with promoting strong future potency in the Middle East by ensuring its environmental concerns are inline with its economic and progressive goals. Only by using its resources in a manner that will aid continued progress and prosperity will Kurdistan ensure its own existence past the supply of its limited resources of oil and oil byproducts. Once that oil is exhausted Kurdistan will soon find that its greatest renewable resource is its water and fertile land. We can only hope that in the exploitation of oil these resources are not abandoned and ruined for future use.
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Walking through the street in Iraqi-Kurdistan you get a feel for the need of an improved garbage collection system. Paper, metal, plastics, cardboard, and all matter of waste are washed down the streets already performing the duties of exposed sewer lines and pedestrian thoroughfares. The filth clogs drains forcing everything behind it to build up until enough force is created to push the mess further down the street clogging up the next drain creating a chain reaction that ends with sewage and garbage seeping into and contaminating local and downstream water supplies. As Northern Iraq is the headwaters for the Tigris, and the Euphrates Rivers this means that downstream is the rest of the Middle East.
The United Nation Environment Program has stated that roughly 80% of marine debris originates from land-based sources and activities. In addition, plastics make up 90% of floating marine debris.
Plastics have been found in the digestive tracts of over 100 species of seabirds. In fact, by 1998, the Marine Mammal Commission reported that marine debris had affected at least 267 animal species around the world. It is also important to note that one piece of rubbish can kill more than one animal in its litter lifespan.
Even with this type of an impact little concern is given for the environment. The largest concerns in this area are a lack of continuous electrical power, the rising price of fuel, and a lack of clean drinking water. Limited thought and effort can be placed on new business ideas that deal with the environment. Focus is often diverted from long term implications to short term gains. Little thought is being placed on tomorrow. The irony is that having a longer term vision of environmental conscience has proven time and again to positively affect these short term concerns precisely because short term solutions deal with symptoms rather than root causes.
One of the largest contributors to accumulated waste is the unequal balance of imports to exports. As a developing country, Iraqi-Kurdistan has imports that far outnumber its exports. The imports that Iraqi-Kurdistan sees are increasing their content of plastics. The characteristics that increasingly make plastic the manufacturing and packaging material of choice, i.e. light weight, durable, less expensive, also make it a challenge to collect and recycle. Plastic materials when released into the environment can also be a visual blight and harmful to wildlife. Nor does plastics debris degrade in the environment; instead it tends to accumulate, creating long-term environmental problems.
The only real form of wealth accumulation in Iraqi-Kurdistan is from external support or from the sale of oil. Due to the Oil for Food program even produce is brought in from other countries instead of being created in the fertile plains of Iraqi-Kurdistan thereby destroying the local farming culture. Everyone is moving out of the villages and into the cities. To make up for this growth cities have been reaching further outward and upward. This has increased population density and growing with it is the amount of litter, garbage, waste materials, refuse, or whatever else you want to call it. The majority of this garbage is collected and placed in a local collection spot where it is burnt.
Dioxin is one of the many pollutants given off from burning of trash. Dioxin is a catchall term for three chemical groups: true dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The most dangerous form of dioxin, 2,3,7,8 -tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxcin (or its abbreviation, 2378 - TCDD), has been called "the most lethal human-made poison." Its toxicity is second only to radioactive waste; just three ounces would be enough to kill one million people. Even at levels less than one part per billion, it can cause serious health impairments. It was once used in Agent Orange, the Vietnam-era herbicide that continues to cause health problems for many American veterans exposed over thirty years ago. Dioxin contamination at Love Canal (Niagara Falls, NY) forced hundreds of families to abandon their homes.
Given off in large quantities by burning plastics and paper, dioxin accumulates in the soil in areas surrounding burn sites. Ground-level concentrations of dioxin resulting from burning household garbage in a burn barrel are 7,000 times more then the amount formed when garbage is burned in a resource recovery facility. Slow to break down, dioxins linger for centuries in the affected area and are absorbed into plants that grow in the contaminated soil. Animals that eat these plants absorb the dioxin, and ultimately dioxin makes its way to humans who eat the animals or crops grown in this soil. Dioxin does not break down or pass out of our bodies; it accumulates in our fat cells.
Ash and other particulate matter can irritate the eyes and throat, damage the lungs, cause bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, and restrict visibility. It can seriously affect people with asthma or certain allergies. Burn barrel ash laden with heavy metals is particularly toxic, and often seeps into ground water.
To prevent an even greater tragedy Iraq needs to start addressing their trash problem. Simple changes need to be made first and foremost. The first change that needs to be made is to stop bringing the trash up into the mountains. It is better to have the trash collected in lower areas that will not contaminate downstream resources. The second major undertaking is to separate the trash that is collected into recyclables, hazardous materials, and biodegradable waste.
The recyclable materials need to be collected and either processed in country or exported for profit. Successful recovery of plastics -- like any material -- requires an infrastructure that can get plastics from the consumer and back into use as new products. The plastics recycling infrastructure has four parts:
Collection-Rather than being thrown away, plastics (primarily PETand HDPE) are collected for recycling. Curbside collection with other materials and drop-off at recycling centers are common plastics collection methods.
Handling-Plastics from collection programs are sorted to increase their value and compacted to reduce shipping costs.
Reclamation-In conventional recycling, sorted plastics are chopped, washed and converted into flakes or pellets that are then processed into new products. Advanced recycling technologies can take mixed plastics back to their original building blocks (monomers or petroleum feedstocks). These can then be recycled into a number of different products, including new plastics.
End-use-Reclaimed plastic pellets or flakes-or petroleum feedstocks-are used to manufacture new products.
The variety of products made with recycled plastics is growing. Here are just a few examples:
· Recycled PET can be used in producing deli and bakery trays, carpets, clothing and textiles.
· Recycled HDPE can become bottles for laundry produ cts, recycling bins, agricultural pipe, bags, motor oil bottles, decking and marine pilings.
· Recycled vinyl can become playground equipment, film and airbubble cushioning.
· Recycled LDPE can be used to manufacture bags, shrink film and compost bins.
· Recycled PP can be used in automobile parts, carpets, battery casings, textiles, industrial fibers and films used for packaging products such as candy.
· Recycled PS can be used in products including office accessories, video cassettes and cases.
All hazardous materials need to be placed in suitable containment facilities and treated until they are benign or they can be disposed of with the least environmental impact. Biodegradable waste can then be accumulated and contained to enable the methane to be trapped and used as an energy creation facility. The decomposed waste can then be turned into humus that can be sold as nutrient rich soil.
As these programs are developed, a large scale population education program has to take place teaching the locals the methodology behind the “reduce-reuse-recycle” campaign. Care will have to be given to promote an environmental social conscience that will allow for a sustainable future in Iraq. At the current rate of expansion in Northern Iraq coupled with the waste management practices used today, Northern Iraqi cities will soon be swimming in their own filth. The amount of pollutions caused by the cities will contaminate the drinking water and release pollutants into the air leading to widespread disease and death. There are many diseases and problems that are already noted as being caused by burning trash and having plastics in the environment.
In 2004 Dr. Sarah (Steve) Mosko, Ph.D did research into “What Else Is In Plastic.” Her studies discovered that many “stabilizers” are placed in plastics to ensure that they remain rigid during use. These stabilizers can separate from the plastic and be absorbed into the human body. The manufacturing of these plastics will also release more and more contaminants into the environment. Recycling these plastics will decrease the amount of harmful stabilizers released into the atmosphere from production and into the ground from burying and the air from burning. The toxins in plastics buried and burned is realeased into the environment causing Decreased rates of pregnancy and higher rates of miscarriage along with other pregnancy complications. Children with Asthma were noticed to have an increased amount of plastic toxins in their urine. Males who have noticed a decrease in their sperm count and increase in testicular cancer were all noticed to have higher levels of phthalates (a stabilizer found in plastics) in their urine.
Ensuring that hazardous materials do not make their way into the ground water, soil, and atmosphere is the responsibility of whoever is in power in Iraqi-Kurdistan but is an area of concern for anyone who gets water from the Tigris or Euphrates Rivers. The wholesale pollution of these headwaters is affecting all of the downstream populace. Efforts need to be put in place immediately to stem the flow of toxins from trash into the environment. Only when the supply is stopped can anything be done about the pollutants that are already there.
The first step in this process is for the Kurdistan Regional Government to appoint a Minister of Refuse Collection and Remediation in the Ministry for the Environment. This Minister would be in charge of ensuring waste management facilities in all areas of Kurdistan meet international requirements for health concerns. This minister would also be responsible for ensuring all future expansion planning has environmental impact assessments (EIA) done prior to the commencement of any work. This will allow an integrated environmental management (IEM) plan to take precedence in the country minimizing environmental impact of progress. The Minister is intended to guide, rather than impede the development process by providing an approach to gathering and analyzing information, and ensuring that it can be easily understood by all interested and affected parties in the development. The purpose of this ministry is to resolve or lessen any negative environmental impacts and to enhance positive aspects of development proposals.
The second step in this process is for the Kurdistan Regional Government to work with local Municipality Ministries to facilitate changes in trash collection and processing procedures. Educational campaigns would have to be undertaken to utilize trash separation practices at the lowest levels. Trash receptacles would be clearly marked at public areas, homes, and businesses for recyclable materials, biodegradable trash, and hazardous materials. This trash could be collected on different days, or by different vehicles. Biodegradable and recyclable trash could be collected by private entities, which have special permission from the ministry. Hazardous waste would be collected by the municipalities for sorting and proper remediation at the waste collection facility. The utmost care would be taken to limit environmental impact during the collection, processing, and storage practice.
The recycling aspect is best approached by a private entity, with government backing, that is set up to process the recyclables and sell them to outside buyers. These recyclables can be baled and shipped out of the country or they can be processed into usable base materials. These materials may then be exported or used by manufacturers in the region. As Kurdistan is land locked, private companies would need government assistance to set up recycling centers that would be able to handle the needs of the community. Helping companies offset the cost of setting up recycling centers would be cheaper for the KRG then establishing, running, and maintaining a recycling center on its own. In turn, the impact of reusing the generated waste has a value beyond compare. Government assistance could include donation of land for recycling centers, assistance in the collection of recyclable materials, separation of recyclable materials in existing landfills, and waiving of fees and taxes for businesses involved in the recycling operation.
Biodegradable waste will need to be taken away from the city and placed in a facility that can trap the methane emitted during decomposition. The escaping methane can be burned in an electricity generator allowing power generation to be utilized by the facility and extra power to be sold back to the main grid. When the waste has decomposed into humus it can then be packaged and sold as fertilizer or soil. This humus can be used to revitalize farmland without the use of pesticides, insecticides, and harmful toxins used in chemically enhanced soil nutrients. This will lead to larger farm yields and increased competitive advantage for local farmers. This program can be undertaken by the city or by a private entity. Similar means of support for the recycling centers can be used for the biodegradable waste center with the possible addition of government purchase of the humus for distribution to farmers.
Once these programs are in place, care can be given to clean Kurdistan of all waste materials that are collecting in the rivers, hills, cities, and environment. This will increase the beauty of Kurdistan bolstering tourist revenues, and improving the quality of life of the people in Kurdistan and all of the Middle East. This community clean up program can be accomplished by using manpower to simply go around the community and pick up all of the trash that is lying around and placing it in the proper trash receptacles. The manpower for this can be garnered from local schools, universities, businesses, and corrections institutions. Care can be taken to instruct government funded agencies when and where the cleanup needs to take place. A medial campaign can be launched to caste a favorable light upon volunteering ones’ time to such a cause.
The media will play a major role in the success of this campaign. The public needs to be informed on the importance of recycling and keeping their city clean. This may not be considered a priority when there is no continuous electrical power or clean drinking water, but these problems are not mutually exclusive. The dirty water is part of the pollution problem due to poor garbage collection and remediation practices. Lack of continuous electrical power is in-part due to poor electrical practices that cause a conglomerate of wasted wiring to be strung from building to building without a care for removal of old wires when new ones are put in. These wires still carry an electrical load and cause for the power limit to be reached far sooner then would be necessitated if better power management practices were in place.
Once these practices are agreed upon and put in place an Environmental Audit should be done by an official auditing firm from Europe or America. At that point they auditing team will point our areas that still need improvement and give ideas on how to improve these areas. The initial cost will be considerable but with adopting environmentally friendly practices an area can run more efficiently and reduce overall costs for the locale. Non-first world countries have to learn to live within the means of their country. Without a program to ensure a streamlined environmental and economical policy a non-first world country will soon find itself without the economic power to support its own population.
As a newly forming and developing nation Kurdistan has the chance to ensure that its progress is inline with promoting strong future potency in the Middle East by ensuring its environmental concerns are inline with its economic and progressive goals. Only by using its resources in a manner that will aid continued progress and prosperity will Kurdistan ensure its own existence past the supply of its limited resources of oil and oil byproducts. Once that oil is exhausted Kurdistan will soon find that its greatest renewable resource is its water and fertile land. We can only hope that in the exploitation of oil these resources are not abandoned and ruined for future use.
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