JEDDAH, 18 October 2006 — Worshippers in the Grand Mosque in Makkah leave behind around 115 tons of waste a day during the holy month of Ramadan. Every day after iftar (fast breaking), about 2,500 full time workers and 500 part timers emerge to clean up the mess left behind after everyone eats, Asharq Al-Awsat reported yesterday.
A study carried out by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj Research, is offering some suggestions for dealing with the mountain of Ramadan rubbish created each year. The first suggestion is to ban food from the mosque altogether, except for pitted dates, which are the traditional food for breaking fast that dates back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The study also suggests having designated iftar and suhour areas where food is given out. In essence the study suggests forming a more organized process for giving out food to the one-to-two-million people that visit the mosque during Ramadan.
Most of the attempts that aim at preserving the cleanness in the mosque area have failed. The main issue is that the charity organizations concentrate on distributing the meals in the specified area of the Grand Mosque.
