Yemen needs recyling plan Waste piles up [Archives:2002/18/Health]

Increasing environmental problems in Yemen may have a catastrophic effect on the population.
For many years the government has been heedless to this issue and its gravity is now more apparent. Yet, some of the smaller problems could be solved with some effort in this respect. Some other needs more effort on the part of both the government and the public.
Building public’s awareness will significantly contribute to reducing the complexity of this issue.
The issue of proper disposal of waste water is increasingly drawing the attention of the governments. This is because of the harmful impacts of this problem on environment and humans. Some of the main problems Yemen is suffering from can be outlined as follows:
Plastic
Plastic sacks pose a real threat to environment in Yemen since they cannot be dissolved. This problem is very harmful to the arable lands.
One of the possible solutions is building a recycling plant for recycling plastic substances. Rationalizing the use and manufacturing of these products would be of prime importance for limiting this problem. Also, resorting to the use of baskets made of palm tress, fabric or ethylene is one solution.
Paper
This problem is not severe as the former, but it is still a problem. To solve this it would be a good move to establish a recycling plant that would change these papers into usable papers, newsprint, and for other related paper industry.
Plastic water bottles
Due to the increase of using plastic water bottles, the environment is endangered, especially inside cities.
Since these products are not dissolvable, manufacturing plants producing these bottles should be ordered to recycle their products for second use. Similarly, restoring to reusable water containers would have many advantages. People should also be advised to boil water for drinking purposes instead of buying bottled water.
Sewage
This problem is a big one in Yemen at both urban and rural areas. Coastal cities suffer a lot, as waste is usually disposed in the sea.
This is indeed very destructive to the marine life as it leads to the death of thousands of fishes and other sea creatures. In some cities where there’re no sewerage networks and people tend to dig their own septic tanks.
This is a threat to the environment as well as to our lives when the sewage water gets mixed with the underground water. Yet, when sinks get filled and start leaking, they are a real hazard to our life and smell awfully bad. Such an environment is hospitable to all kinds of insects and epidemics. The high salty water of these sinks also destroys asphalted roads.
Water shortage
Due to the scarcity of water in Yemen as well as the lack of the water networks even in major cities, a large part of the population suffers from this problem. Consequences of water shortage include the spread of disease and lack of hygiene.



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