The Israeli Civil Administration has said it has managed to cut down significantly on fly-tipping in the West Bank in the last two months, signalling the beginning of the end of the problem.
For years rubbish from Israel would get dumped in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) at unofficial sites, damaging the soil and aquifers, as well as being an eye-sore.
Even during the intense Israeli-Palestinian conflict, criminals on both sides cooperated to get rubbish from one place to the other.
"Garbage is a business and it is good money," Lt-Col Avi Shalev from the Civil Administration said in an interview with IRIN. Realising this, he and his environmental team decided to hit back at the illegal dumpers.
The dumping, observers said, became worse when Israel, trying to enact environmental legislation, started charging municipalities for burying their rubbish. The idea was to encourage less waste and promote recycling. However, people opted for the cheaper option - illegal dumping in the West Bank.
| Read more |
 Israelis, Palestinians see eye to eye on fly tipping in West Bank |
| Dozens of Palestinians sift through rubbish tips to survive |
| Pollution without borders |
A 2007 Act, signed by Brig-Gen Yoav Mordachai, head of the Civil Administration, and Gen Gadi Shamni, head of Israel's central command, makes life for illegal dumpers difficult: Anyone wanting to bring refuse into the West Bank requires a special permit.
"Whoever enters without a permit, can be arrested on the spot," said Shalev. "The fact that a driver entered in a truck with garbage is enough to arrest him."
Previously the law allowed fines to be imposed only if the culprit was caught red-handed, requiring sting operations to be set up.
The Civil Administration, said initial statistics showed there had been a sharp drop in illegal dumping, down to less than a quarter of what it was before the law took effect about two months ago.
In the six months between signing the act and enforcing it, the Civil Administration and other law enforcement agencies held meetings with relevant parties to explain the new law. Both Israel and oPt were targeted.
 Photo: Shabtai Gold/IRIN  |
| Palestinians looking for re-usable materials, especially metals, at the Psagot landfill near Ramallah |
Meanwhile, the World Bank said it had opened a new official landfill for Palestinians in the northern Jenin area. The Bank said it was looking to "replicate the success" in the southern West Bank, where German and Japanese donors had started to invest in new sites.
Work is going on to clean up the illegal sites, but activists said much more needed to be done to fix the damage.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
