Russeifa District is facing growing challenges in waste management amid its high population density and the generation of between 400 and 450 tons of waste every day. Less than 1% of that waste is currently recycled, according to findings cited in a report produced by Youth Voice, a program on Radio Al-Balad.

Around half a million people live in Russeifa District, which covers an area of approximately 38 square kilometers. This makes it one of the most densely populated areas in Jordan and places considerable pressure on the systems responsible for collecting, transporting and processing waste.

Residents in different parts of the district say the problem goes beyond overflowing containers. Waste is also accumulating in streets and residential neighborhoods, accompanied by unpleasant odors, insects and rodents, as well as concerns about the health and environmental consequences of prolonged waste accumulation or burning.

One resident said odors from accumulated waste were affecting residents’ daily lives, particularly during the summer. He noted that living conditions in poorer neighborhoods do not allow all families to take individual measures to cope with high temperatures and persistent odors.

He added that some waste collection points remain uncleared for extended periods, with rubbish piling up around containers and contributing, according to residents, to the spread of insects and rodents.

Other residents pointed to differences in cleanliness between main roads and inner residential neighborhoods. They said sanitation workers are more visible on major streets, while some smaller lanes receive less frequent collection services.

One resident said waste can remain in some locations for two or three days, particularly during periods of high temperatures, intensifying odors and worsening the overall situation.

Residents also say the problem is linked to how waste is disposed of. Some reported that people throw rubbish outside designated containers, while others referred to practices associated with collecting and moving waste between neighborhoods.

One resident said containers are not emptied as frequently as needed, adding that collection trucks sometimes arrive once and leave while waste continues to accumulate.

He also noted that residents pay fees for sanitation services and called for those payments to be reflected in the quality of services provided in their neighborhoods.

Municipality: Around 500 Sanitation Workers Are Not Enough

In response to these complaints, Mohammed Al-Zboun, chairman of the Russeifa Municipal Committee, acknowledged that the number of sanitation workers employed by the municipality does not match the size of the population.

Al-Zboun said the municipality has around 500 sanitation workers, but acknowledged that this is insufficient given the district’s hundreds of thousands of residents.

He said the municipality is operating within its available resources but faces challenges stemming from the volume of waste, population density and the layout of residential neighborhoods.

Russeifa previously had a waste transfer station near Abu Sayyah Circle and the bridge, where waste collected from residential areas was taken before being loaded onto larger trucks and transported to Al-Ghabawi landfill.

The transfer station was intended to address the difficulty of getting large trucks into some neighborhoods and narrow streets. Waste could be collected by smaller vehicles, transported to a location accessible to larger trucks and then taken to the final disposal site.

But Al-Zboun said the transfer station is no longer operational.

He believes the waste transportation system should be reconsidered as part of efforts to address the district’s waste problem, particularly given the limited number of vehicles and the distances collection trucks must travel to reach Al-Ghabawi landfill.

Recycling Remains in Its Early Stages

On recycling, Al-Zboun said Russeifa Municipality has not yet reached the stage of environmental recycling, explaining that this would first require establishing a system for sorting waste.

Paper, plastic, metal, glass and other materials need to be separated, either at the source or through organized sorting operations, before recycling can take place on a meaningful scale.

For now, he said, the municipality is focused on a more immediate priority: keeping neighborhoods clean and providing residents with a safe environment. Waste separation and recycling would come at a later stage.

Future plans include raising public awareness about the importance of sorting and recycling waste, recognizing residents as a key part of any effective waste-management system.

According to the figures cited in the report, less than 1% of the waste generated in Russeifa is recycled. Most of the remainder is either sent to landfill, burned or left to accumulate, increasing environmental and public-health pressures.

Expert: Waste Management Starts With Planning, Not the Landfill

From an environmental perspective, Dr. Mahmoud Abu Al-Laban, a professor of atmospheric physics at Hashemite University, says waste management should not be limited to collecting rubbish and transporting it to landfills.

Instead, it should begin with planning an integrated system that reflects the population size and the nature of activities in each area.

Abu Al-Laban says the average person generates around 900 grams to one kilogram of waste per day. A city with a population of roughly half a million could therefore produce close to 500 tons of waste every day.

Such volumes require an adequate number of waste containers as well as collection schedules based on the amount of waste generated in each area.

Commercial districts, he explains, require a different collection system from residential neighborhoods because shops, restaurants and other businesses generate larger quantities of waste. High-density residential areas, meanwhile, require more containers and more frequent collection.

Summer temperatures make faster collection even more important, he says, particularly because organic material accounts for a significant share of household waste and rapidly begins to ferment and decompose in hot conditions, producing unpleasant odors.

Organic Waste as a Source of Odors and Gases

Abu Al-Laban warns that the impact of waste extends beyond unpleasant smells, pointing to two main categories of pollutants associated with waste.

The first consists of compounds responsible for odors, which become more pronounced during summer as higher temperatures accelerate fermentation and decomposition of food waste and other organic materials.

The second is produced more extensively at landfills through anaerobic decomposition. This process generates a number of gases and pollutants, including carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane.

Some of these pollutants can be detected directly through their odors, Abu Al-Laban says, while others contribute indirectly to the increase in greenhouse gases and global warming.

Transporting Waste Is Not the First Solution

The environmental expert says moving waste away from residential areas remains necessary when no other options are available, but it should be the final stage of a waste-management system rather than its only solution.

The priority, he argues, should be sorting waste at the source and recovering recyclable materials such as plastic, cardboard and metals.

He points to the commercial sector, which generates large quantities of cardboard and plastic. Separating these materials at the source reduces the volume of waste reaching containers and makes reuse and recycling possible.

When cardboard and plastic are mixed with organic waste inside containers, they become contaminated and are less useful for recycling. Separating them from the beginning allows them to be collected and recycled more efficiently.

Open Burning Creates an Additional Risk

Abu Al-Laban is particularly concerned about the uncontrolled burning of waste, describing the practice as an environmental and public-health risk because of the mixed nature of household waste.

Household waste contains a wide range of materials, including different types of plastic and packaging that may contain halogenated elements such as chlorine. Burning these materials under uncontrolled conditions can produce toxic compounds, including dioxins and furans.

These compounds are highly hazardous, he says, and direct exposure to smoke from burning waste poses a risk to people living or working near the burning sites.

He called for an end to uncontrolled waste burning and urged authorities to transport waste to designated disposal facilities while developing sorting and recycling systems to reduce the amount ultimately sent to landfills.

Municipality and Residents Share Responsibility

The report argues that Russeifa’s waste crisis cannot be reduced simply to a shortage of sanitation workers. Several factors are involved, including population density, the number of waste containers, collection schedules, the number of vehicles, transportation arrangements, the absence of a comprehensive sorting and recycling system, and certain individual practices.

Abu Al-Laban says the municipality carries the primary operational responsibility for collecting and transporting waste, but residents also have a role to play by disposing of waste inside designated containers rather than leaving it beside them.

He points to another recurring problem: people placing old furniture and bulky waste inside regular containers. This can fill containers before their scheduled collection and increase the amount of waste accumulating around them.

He also called for recyclable materials to be separated at the source, which would reduce pressure on containers and decrease the amount of waste requiring transportation and landfill disposal.

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The Transfer Station Returns to the Debate

The stalled transfer station has emerged as one issue that may warrant reconsideration, particularly given the distance between Russeifa and Al-Ghabawi landfill.

The report suggests that restoring an appropriately designed transfer station that meets health and environmental requirements could reduce pressure on waste collection vehicles. Smaller trucks could collect waste from residential neighborhoods and transport it to the station, where larger trucks could then load and transport it to the final disposal site.

This would reduce the time collection vehicles spend on long-distance trips and allow them to make more collection rounds within neighborhoods during the day.

While the municipality is currently focusing on improving cleanliness as an immediate priority, moving toward waste sorting and recycling will require infrastructure, a clear strategy and the participation of residents, the private sector and government agencies.

Russeifa’s waste problem is ultimately about much more than an overflowing container or a pile of rubbish on a street. When hundreds of tons of waste are generated every day, waste management becomes a matter of urban planning, public health, environmental protection and economics all at once.

Residents are calling for more consistent sanitation services, while the municipality faces constraints involving staffing, vehicles and infrastructure. At the same time, waste sorting and recycling remain at an early stage.

Building an integrated system that starts with reducing waste generation and sorting materials at the source, followed by efficient collection and transportation and, ultimately, the recovery and recycling of as much material as possible, will be essential to easing the pressure on Russeifa and improving the environment in which hundreds of thousands of residents live.