Availability and Quality of Solid Waste Collection Service at Suburban Area in Alexandria City, Egypt | ||
| Journal of High Institute of Public Health | ||
| Article 3, Volume 35, Issue 4, October 2005, Pages 779-794 | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/jhiph.2005.167033 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Magda Abd Elati; Manal Ahmed | ||
| Environmental Health Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Collection process is the main step in solid waste management program. If it was not done properly, it causes many environmental pollution and health risks. So, the aim of this study was to assess the solid waste collection services provided by Onyx in a suburban area in Alexandria Governorate. Khorshid suburban area was chosen, which is divided into two regions: north and south. The Northern part belongs to Montazah District while southern belongs to East District. Interview questionnaire sheets were filled by frequent visiting to this area. Collected data were analyzed statistically. Data revealed that the southern region of Khorshid was not serviced by Onyx at-all and the citizens disposed of their waste either onto the bank of the Mahmoudia Canal that leads to contamination of the water, in the streets, or is incinerated. On the other side, the north Khorshid which is serviced by Onyx Company suffered from many problems. The unavailability of adequate number of containers with respect to number of houses and the far distance between some houses and the place of waste containers led to accumulation of solid waste in the streets, spreading of bad odor, and overuse of insecticides. In addition, spreading of respiratory and diarrheal diseases was prevalent among children. Also, the results revealed the presence of indirect significant correlation [P<0.005] between the frequency of emptying containers by vehicle and prevalence of insects and consequently the overuse of insecticides and prevalence of allergic disease among children. There is a direct correlation between the diseases and spreading of insects and rats [P<0.05]. All resident said that the quality of collection services is worse and had worsened. The worst state from the public view was due to negligence from the company itself, inadequate number of workers, and there is no good supervision and follow up from the responsible supervisors. However, the Governorate enforces pay percentage of monthly electrical consumption. This system was unacceptable by nearly all residents because the charge was high whereas no service was provided. So, it is recommended that the solid waste collection by a private Company [Onyx] must be supervised strictly by Governorate itself to ensure the implementation of this service in remote areas as the same quality in urban areas. Follow up from the districts on services that are provided to customers to evaluate and improve it. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Solid Waste Collection Service; Suburban area; Alexandria | ||
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