New waste management system on the anvil —Environment Ministry

AMMAN — The Ministry of Environment is scheduled to embark on implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system in the near future, which environmentalists believe will play a key role in preserving the environment.

The Ministry of the Environment will begin to implement the EPR system on a voluntary basis in major waste generating companies following the issuance of instructions in the Official Gazette, according to reports.

“The instructions of the EPR will be enforced on both companies and producers,” Environment Ministry Secretary General Mohammad Khashashneh told The Jordan Times.

At the moment, there are a number of major companies that are working voluntarily with the ministry, as they are preparing to establish an association that will identify the types of waste on the market and draw up an action plan for the recovery of recycled materials, which will create job opportunities, the official said.

“Producers will be responsible for 50 per cent of waste management of their products, they will be responsible for placing different containers, which will allow people to place waste in these containers in return for a certain amount of money, Khashashneh said.

The producers will have to show that the packaging materials are collected and recycled. There will be applications for households and waste collectors, the official said.

Waste collectors will have their vehicles equipped with a digital system and the households will be provided with a barcode to collect points for every time they use the application and they will eventually get a certain amount of money, according to Khashashneh.

However, Omar Al Shoshan, chairman of Jordan Environmental Union, welcomed the idea, but expressed his scepticism regarding the monitoring of the system in the private sector.

“From an economic standpoint, the instructions of the EPR will enhance the quality of Jordanian industries and their products, and they will create benefits. This, in return, will serve the environment,” he said.