Israel is flooded with trash. Who will take care of it?

The solid waste management issue in Israel has reached a boiling point, according to Gil Livne, CEO of the Dan Region Association of Towns for Sanitation and Waste Disposal and former Mayor of Shoham.

The emergency will be at the center of the 7th Annual Waste management Conference in Memory of Danny Sternberg, produced by association of Towns in cooperation with the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel (FLAI) and the Federation of Regional Councils. The event will take place at the Hiriya Recycling Park on Tuesday.

“Waste volumes in Israel are growing by about 2.6% annually, but the available treatment solutions are not only not advanced but are also dwindling,” Livne said. “The impact of this crisis is already evident in the municipalities and is extremely tangible: there is no place to dispose of waste.” 

“The waste treatment sector has done everything to prevent waste from being left on the streets, but the closure of landfills and central sites that received waste has left waste piles at transfer stations after the Passover holidays,” he added. “Considering these scenes, the discussion about recycling or energy production from waste seems disconnected.”

This year's conference will be held under the theme, “Thinking Ahead About Waste - The Municipal Sector as a Pioneer in Establishing Advanced Waste Treatment Facilities.”

The conference will be attended by senior government officials, mayors, CEOs of private and public companies, experts, and professionals. It will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing the municipal sector in initiating and establishing advanced waste treatment facilities.

The conference will open with remarks by the Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman. Attendees will include Interior Minister Rabbi Moshe Arbel; Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai; Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities and Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut Mayor Haim Bibas; Chairman of the Regional Authorities and Head of Merhavim Regional Council, Shai Hajaj.

“I see no other solution than the entry of local authorities as initiators in the establishment and operation of advanced waste facilities,” said Livne. “The government and the private sector must join forces and participate in projects led by the municipal sector.”

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