By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN – Jordan’s first solid waste recycling centre was launched on Tuesday with the aim of encouraging the public to segregate and reuse trash.
Recycling addresses environment pollution and global warming, prevents the destruction of forests and saves water and energy, Minister of Environment Taher Shakhshir said at the launch yesterday.
“The initiative represents cooperation between the private and public sectors to safeguard the country’s environment and public health,” he noted.
The Jordan Centre for Trade and Investment (JCTI), which owns Cozmo, established the waste recycling centre, located in the Seventh Circle area in the Cozmo car park.
The public can dispose of trash at the centre between 10:00am and 10:00pm.
“It is truly heart warming to see a private sector company such as Cozmo stepping up and fulfilling its social responsibility by adopting environment-sustainable practices… We hope to see others contribute to preserving Jordan’s environment and reducing their carbon footprint,” the minister underscored.
The recycling centre, which is designed to build environment awareness and promote community engagement, will recycle waste produced from the supermarket as well, according to organisers.
The recycling centre was established following the success of a project last year, under which the Ministry of Environment, the Dutch embassy, Cozmo and Entity Green placed orange recycling bins in the supermarket’s parking lot for paper, plastics and metal.
“Our customers and area residents welcomed the step, which prompted us to replicate the project on a larger scale and establish a recycling centre,” JCTI CEO Imad Bukhari said yesterday.
“…Each one of us has the responsibility to do his part in protecting the environment to ensure a safe and healthy future for generations to come,” he noted.
Noting that Cozmo is adopting eco-friendly practices, Bukhari added that the supermarket has replaced traditional plastic bags with biodegradable shopping bags, in addition to switching to energy-efficient lighting to lower its energy consumption by 50 per cent.
“We are also working with Entity Green to provide training workshops for all Cozmo employees on how to go green in the workplace,” he said.
Entity Green, a company that offers recycling, total waste management consulting and training services, will be the recycling centre’s implementing partner.
“We will be responsible for ensuring that the streams of all recyclables coming to the centre will be recycled properly. The centre will also display products made from recycled materials by Entity Green’s Recycled Design programme,” Entity Green Deputy General Manager, Fares Shaddad, said at the event.
Safe disposal of solid waste in Jordan remains a concern, according to environment experts, who said that most of the country’s municipalities – except for Amman – dispose of solid waste in open dumpsites with no lining, management or biogas collection.
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