Challenges
Municipalities are setting goals to find ways to reduce fuel quantities in waste management transportation. Municipalities (like Jerash, Karak, and all the municipalities in Jordan) are spending a large size of their annual budgets on the fuel cost for transportation of all types of waste from consumer sites to landfills. This includes domestic, industrial, construction, medical and other types of waste. Oil importing countries like Jordan are dependent on importing all types of fuel, and this increases the risks of budget deficits because of fluctuating international oil prices which are changed on monthly basis. The large areas of the municipalities, the sporadic distribution of customers, in addition to the location of the landfill about 40km away from the city, makes waste management activities more fuel consuming.
The available waste management fleet and staff is not enough to collect the current available daily loads, which increase the importance of waste management and sorting awareness campaigns in order to meet the daily demands. In addition, the fluctuation in the daily prices of different sorted material can lead the end consumer to sell the sorted material directly.
Alignment with national and international priorities
Several municipalities like the municipality of Karak in Jordan are part of the Covenant of Mayors (COM) which is a European co-operation program involving local and regional authorities. Signatories of the COM voluntarily commit to increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources on their territories. By their commitment, they support the European Union CO2 reduction objectives and at the same time contribute to their National Determined Contribution (NDCs) targets to achieve Paris agreement goal every five years. Fuels a
Waste segregation at the consumer site will have a direct impact on extensively reducing the quantity of waste dumped in landfills.
Organizing with the stakeholders in this field in order to implement the energy efficiency measures, issuing of licenses, and ensure national commitments to reduce the fuel quantities and GHGs. Countries like Jordan have issued the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law since 2012, and set drivers for consumers for implementing these RE ad EE projects.
Project Actions to overcome the challenges
Establishing a baseline for the waste management operation at each municipality is the key first step in order to establish a baseline and implement the energy efficiency measures to reduce the fuel quantities and cost of fuels in the annual budget of the municipality.
Establishing sorting and recycling facilities is very important in order to reduce the quantities of waste transported to the landfills. For example, cardboard take a large size during transportation and therefore consume a lot of fuel and cost of transportation will be high. Therefore, a sorting station for cardboard will reduce the quantities and cost of fuel in a significant way.
Replacing the existing fleet of old waste management trucks with a new fleet of trucks using fuel efficiency technologies or electric trucks, will significantly reduce the quantities of fuels consumed each year for this activity and significantly reduce the cost of operation and maintenance of the fleet, reduce the Green House Gases, reduce the pollution,
Some municipalities like Karak municipality have started the implementation of waste sorting four years ago. Youth, women and refugees are engaged in a “Cash Forward” program that proved to raise the awareness of participant in the important of waste sorting across the municipality.
Municipalities are using GPS in order to determine the best routes and reduce the costs of fuels such as the successful implementation of this measure in Binzerte Municipality in Tunis, and Karak Municipality in Jordan.
The next stage of development is to create “Transition Stations” in order to reduce the time in transportation and quantity of fuel, and this has been documented in a feasibility study that is pending funding for implementation.
SMART Goal
Municipalities will be annual goals in order to reduce the consumption of fuels. For example, Karak municipality has set a goal to reduce the quantity of fuel consumed by 30% this year. Waste sorting will increase employment in the municipality. This will be done through awareness raising campaigns, establishing sorting locations, and encourage the employment of women in this sector. It will also reduce the CO2 emissions by 250 tons annually.
Outcomes
The outcomes of this project will be the reduction of the cost of fuel in the budget. This will allow the municipality to implement other services in the municipality.
- The waste sorting projects will create local jobs for youth, women and refugees. During the past few years, the waste sorting activities has creating jobs for 2500 residents. And it is expected that the future waste sorting projects will create more jobs. This will also engage the local women organization that can benefits from the sorted waste such ask crushed glass of different colors to create local art painting.
- Signing agreement with large organizations such as universities in collecting sorted waste and distributing it among local women organizations.
- Signing agreements with the private sector to coordinate the waste management collection and sorting.
- Waste Management Fuel Energy Management System: Based on engineering studies, procurement, capacity building and knowledge developed in the field, the municipality will develop an energy management system in order to optimize performance and reduce cost of energy.
Resources needed, budget, contributions from municipalities, technical experience, land, equipment, time.
The municipalities need technical training in new technologies, fuel management, and private sector engagement for waste management trucks, electric vehicles, maintenance, and increasing the overall waste management fleet fuel efficiency. Also, social awareness campaigns (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle), digital media, and engaging the end customers (especially residential customers) have big potential to divert waste away from the landfills.
Funds are needed to develop the plans to replace the current waste management transportation fleets, in addition to the construction of the new intermediate Transition Stations and operating them.
