Jordan Times reports that the Ministry of Environment has signed an agreement with the Jordan Environment Society (JES) to implement a comprehensive awareness programme aimed at reducing the use of plastics and encouraging the segregation of waste materials.

Meanwhile, the ministry‘‘s spokesperson, Isa Shboul, underlined the negative impact of plastics on the environment. He suggested using paper bags instead of plastics, adding that it had proved to be an environment-friendly alternative.

Irani said the ministry is keen on increasing cooperation with civil society institutions to preserve the country‘‘s resources and raise people‘‘s awareness on environment-related issues. He said several awareness campaigns will be implemented soon in cooperation with the country‘‘s environment societies to curb the use of plastic materials and encourage segregating solid wastes.

In December last year, the Free Zones Corporation opened three recycling plants, worth JD6 million, to reduce wastes. The plants recycle around 120 tonnes of liquid and solid waste daily, including plastics, scrap tyres, iron and industrial oil. Under the five-month agreement, poster and brochure campaigns will encourage the use of paper bags and waste segregation and will target schools, hotels and other institutions.

A technical committee comprising members from the ministry and the JES will be formed to follow up on the implementation of the agreement‘‘s projects. The JES is implementing a recycling project that seeks to preserve national recourses and reduce solid wastes in order to relieve pressure on dumps.

The project encourages people to participate in preserving the environment and urges the local community to collect and segregate wastes into glass, plastics, and paper wastes, each in a separate container.