Mohammedia News

Louizia’s biggest problem.

A dialogue between a city worker and a female pedestrian in Louizia:

“
-Woman: Excuse me, sir, I think you are blocking my way?

-Worker: I am sorry, ma'am. But don’t you see this early in the morning I am trying to clean up the sidewalk for you to use?

-Woman:That is nice of you, and we thank you for doing such work, but every Monday of each week Louizia is like this, what I mean is that Louizia is like a landfill for the disposal of so much litter of all kinds. Plastic bags, spoiled food, and even animal manure.

-Worker: I could not agree more, ma'am, but as workers of the city, we are here to make every street and corner of Ben Yheklef District clean again. Please be patient and come see in the afternoon.

-Woman: Yeah...sure. Don’t you think, sir, it is better for you guys to do the clean-up of street litter at night while we are sleeping and Monday morning, like today, when we wake up taking our kids to school, everything we see will be a little bit clean in front of our eyes and the eyes of our kids? And the smell will be much healthier to breathe.

Worker: Actually, I don’t have a say in this, but in my opinion that would be a good plan.

Woman: What do you mean you don’t have a say in all this? Aren’t you guys thinking that it is better to do this work at night peacefully and without a bother from pedestrians?

-Worker: Yeah, but the neighborhood doesn’t have enough lighting for such tasks to be performed at night and the city isn’t thinking that way. Look ma'am, We could use our cellphone flashlights, I guess, to go after each piece of garbage and collect it.

-Woman: Yes! Do whatever you feel is good for the job to be done, but just we’d like to accompany our kids to school on Mondays without seeing a horrifying picture like this which is really assaulting our senses.

-Worker: I better hurry up cleaning my marked areas before noon. Have a peaceful time the remainder of your day, ma'am!

-Woman: Me too, I have house chores to do. Have a good day, sir.

”


There is no doubt that employees of Ben Yheklef District are working so hard to clean up and collect the many kinds of garbage that is being dumped daily in many streets and neighborhoods, but the waste problems are still there, and here is why.

Firstly, the population of Ben Yheklef District has increased rapidly in the last few years. Because so many new residences were built in the region, so many people have moved to live there. Waste materials and trash from households become increasingly high; therefore, the pressure is too high to where the population must dump their rubbish. Even though with the changes that are happening, Ben Yheklef District hasn’t come up yet with new and effective solutions to the waste problems we have.

Secondly, the Sunday Souk event that takes place in Ben Yheklef District and brings in so many people from farthest places and villages produces way more waste for one day only compared to the rest of the week. This is partially due to sellers who are dumping their food products when they cannot sell them and are getting rid of plastic bags and waxed cardboard packages after they sell the products. It cost them less money to leave behind their garbage and take off at the end of the day. And partially due to how Ben Yheklef District is handling the Sunday market event.

Thirdly, Ben Yheklef District seems to not implement enough smart public garbage bins where we need them and invest in educating people about how to actively be part of the solution rather than being the problem. For example, in places that are known for waste dumping, I think it is smart to permanently put garbage bins in there and make sure the city garbage truck comes and empties them on a daily basis. In addition, I think the city should truly run advertising campaigns that will help change people’s behaviors and educate them about waste problems and the negative effect that comes with it.

All in all, the waste problem of Ben Yheklef District is there because the waste from households has increased recently and the District hasn’t come up effectively with new solutions to tackle it, on the one hand. On the other hand, the city should handle the Sunday Souk refuse differently, implement smart public bins where we need them, and educate people more about waste problems.