Environment Ministry Warns Severe Garbage Disposal Crisis Looms

Israel is likely to run out of landfill space for the disposal of waste by next year, the Environmental Protection Ministry warned mayors and local council heads this week.

The Efaa, Ganey Hadas and Tarbin (Dudaim) landfills are fast reaching capacity, which will likely necessitate their closure, the ministry said, according to Globes. As a result, the ministry expects there to be a severe shortage of dumping ground over the next five years.

“Immediate action must be taken to reduce the amount of waste for landfill by … separating waste and increasing recycling,” Zandberg said on Wednesday. “I intend to act decisively to advance the ministry’s objectives towards reducing waste dumping in the country, as is customary in OECD countries.”

Zandberg, the head of the Meretz Party that is a member of Israel’s new government that was instated on Sunday night, called on Tuesday for the repeal of an agreement signed between the Trans-Israel pipeline company and the United Arab Emirates as part of the normalization deal between the two countries in September 2020.