Eid Al-Harthy Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The Jeddah Mayoralty introduced colored trash cans in many districts of the city to get rid of the problem of scavengers. Clearly marked blue cans are for paper waste, red ones for metal and glass and green ones for plastics. However, residents say the new changes won't be effective unless they are supported with a crackdown on scavengers and the outlets that buy recyclable materials from them. “If labor regulations are not enforced against scavengers, these cans will be a golden opportunity for scavengers to get what they want," said a resident. Fahd Al-Juhani, who lives in Jeddah, said garbage scavengers can be found in almost all of the city's neighborhoods. “They have caused a lot of harm to the environment as they rummage through garbage cans and rip open trash bags. This attracts rodents and only adds to the city's garbage problem," he said while adding rarely does one see a municipal inspector catching scavengers. Abdullah Al-Ahmadi, another Jeddah resident said having the colored trash cans is a good step and will help the city fight rodents and insects which feed on garbage but said the cans need to be distributed equally in all neighborhoods. “Warehouses that collect what scavengers bring in should be shut down because they are the reason why we have scavengers in the city," Al-Ahmadi added. Abdul Rahman Al-Silami said that the mayoralty should have used a large garbage container with three separate colored compartments instead of using three separate trash cans. “The garbage container should have small openings in which one can throw garbage inside and it should be locked so no one can open or go through its contents," he said. Jaber Al-Alyan, who lives in Al-Sabeel neighborhood, said lack of monitoring on the part of the concerned authorities has made it easier for scavengers to sift through and scatter garbage all over the place and get away with it. A source in Jeddah Mayoralty said that the mayoralty has launched a major cleaning campaign to keep the city tidy and called on the general public to report any violations by dialing 940.
