Piling garbage pollutes Rawdah

Rawdah district residents are complaining that garbage has not been collected for over a week in their neighborhoods and has been causing them severe health problems.
Abdulaziz Saqa, a student studying at a nearby language center, said: "The garbage has not been collected for more than a week." He said the area had new bins, but these were removed for no apparent reason. He said no one seems to care about the health of residents.
He added that foul-smelling raw sewage has been seeping out onto the streets from underground tanks.
Another resident, Zakaria Islam, said the piling waste was giving off a bad smell and attracting flies, mosquitoes and rats. He said this would cause huge problems, especially since there has been a rise in viral infections in the country.
Dr. Sayed Khursheed, a specialist at a government hospital, told Arab News that organic domestic waste is a serious threat because it ferments, creating conditions favorable to the survival and growth of microbial pathogens.
“This leads to various types of infectious diseases. Exposure to hazardous waste can affect human health, through the release of chemicals and radioactive material. Garbage is responsible for the spread of diseases through air and water. Colored plastic is also harmful because it contains pigment with heavy metals that are highly toxic,” he said.
Khursheed said there should be proper waste disposal to prevent health problems.
The Jeddah Municipality has recently supplied new garbage bins with lids to prevent the poor from rummaging trash.