Hajis expected to produce 6 million kg of rubbish

The Makkah Municipality is likely to face a huge challenge in cleaning up the garbage and waste to be left behind by pilgrims.
While walking down the streets of Makkah one can realize that the challenge for the municipality is likely to be greater than its capabilities.
“This place is holy and sacred. People should show absolute respect to the sanctity of the place by keeping it clean,” commented a pilgrim, adding that new pilgrims, arriving for their first Haj, may form a wrong impression when they visit the holy sites.
In recent statements to the media, Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar said more than 6 million kilograms of garbage are expected to be left behind by the pilgrims and the municipality would have to exert extraordinary efforts to tackle this environmental challenge of keeping the holy sites clean and tidy.
“Since the Haj season started and since the pilgrims started arriving in the Kingdom, the municipality has sent more than 10 millions text messages aimed at raising awareness among pilgrims, the mayor said.
These messages also urged pilgrims to adhere to public health regulations and not to litter their surroundings, he said.
“We have allocated more than 23,000 municipality personnel and 450 scouts tasked with cleanup operations,” he said.
The mayor revealed new plans to be followed by the municipality to address the garbage problem.
“We will soon be installing a dedicated pipe to transport all garbage from the holy sites to adjacent locations. This measure will facilitate efforts aimed at keeping the holy sites clean at a faster pace,” he said.
But the burden of processing the garbage should not be the responsibility of the authorities alone, said one pilgrim. He said that pilgrims should be educated on the importance of environmental protection before they arrive in the Kingdom.