CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Soldiers eating at Coalition Dining Facility stop to deposit plastic bottles into one bin, aluminum cans into another and trash into a third before exiting the building. This three-step process, while seemingly inconsequential, has enabled service members to do their part in improving the local environment.
"Iraqis didn't think anything of just throwing bottles and cans out of car windows," said Doug Harger, director of central Iraq's business development for First Iraqi Contracting Company. "It would rain and that stuff would wash into the sewer system and back up treatment plants."
The bottles and cans that made it to trash dumps presented a major environmental problem as well.
Sonia Parker, budget analyst for 10th Mountain Division, said other methods of material disposal create health risks.
"Burning this stuff creates toxic fumes," said Parker, who has family in Boston. "When it rains, that stuff that burned into the air comes right back down."
Harger said education has been key in turning this problem around.
"Fifty percent of Iraq's population is under the age of 20," he said. "They have had to be taught to take better care of their environment for the sake of health and convenience of basic services."
Today, many Iraqis have found employment opportunities because of this effort to clean up the environment and improve basic services, Harger said.
"Our recycling center here has around 40 Iraqi employees. Most of them fit that under-20 demographic."
These workers have been collecting bottles and cans for a while now, but their work has recently expanded to include collection of cardboard and ink cartridges.
"We ran an experiment with collecting cardboard recently," said Harger. "We started with the [post exchange] at Liberty, and in one week we collected over four metric tons of the stuff."
Parker added that the reuse of ink cartridges will also help eliminate needless waste.
"The less we have in trash dumps the better," said Parker. "Reusing ink cartridges will help a lot in this effort."
Recycling is often viewed as an inconvenience — a nuisance that takes time and effort from things that matter. However, Soldiers who participate in the effort here are helping to improve the quality of life in this part of Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2009 04:54 |
| Story ID: | 30145 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 360 |
| Downloads: | 344 |
This work, Recycling provides jobs, hope for Iraqi people, by SGT Frank Vaughn, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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