Campaign aims to keep streets free from thrash

A “Clean Streets Friends” campaign will be launched to spread awareness and promote keeping streets and pavements free from trash as part of the Saudi Environmental Society’s Environment Carnival programs.
Majda Abu Rass, assistant professor in Biotechnology at King Abdulaziz University, is heading the campaign.
“Everyone should feel responsible for keeping the environment clean. Every business should have a policy about the disposal of their waste,” she said. “It is unreasonable to only hold cleaning companies accountable for this job. If no one takes responsibility for appropriately disposing of their trash, the streets will certainly never be clean.”
Abu Rass said that awareness campaigns and imposing fines for dumping trash had a good response. She is focusing now on the cleanness of streets, pavements and areas in front of malls and business outlets. The previous Corniche Friends campaign was a success, she said.
She aims to meet with officials of malls to discuss the issue of littering and tackle it. The discussions would include the possibility of monitoring cleanliness and warning people against littering the streets. She said proposed that security guards could take on such a task, as well as dedicated volunteers.
The director of Jeddah Municipality’s Information Center, Sami Al-Ghamdi, said, “Monitoring the level of cleanliness in shopping areas is a common responsibility of the municipality’s cleaning divisions.”
He said fines imposed on violating restaurants and vegetable, meat and fish markets start from SR 1,000 and can reach SR 5,000. Violations can include the improper disposal of trash.
Stores can expect fines between SR 500 and SR 1,000 when they are untidy inside or outside the place.
He said the municipality is trying to tackle the issue. He called on the public to call 940 to report a lack of cleanliness in shops.