The rubble is a major obstacle to the return to normalcy of life in cities that have suffered from war. It hinders the return of people to their homes, furthermore, it disrupts public facilities, not to mention that they constitute an obstacle to reconstruction.
The project of debris and solid waste removal in Deir Ezzor, which is in its second phase, is targeting 90 government buildings that must be removed in the area between Abu Hamam and Al-Baghouz.
Ahmed Al-Salem, the coordinator of the rubble removal activities, talks about this project, saying:
The issue of the rubble amassment poses a major threat to children in particular, as well as to neighbors of the destroyed sites in general. We found a lot of various remnants of war during the removal process, which made the process very complicated and dangerous for site personnel, in addition to that it took longer than planned.
Weapon ammunition of various types had also been found: “shells – explosive belts – several types of mines – improvised explosive devices.” Many snakes, scorpions, and harmful insects have also been found, who build their nests in the rubble.
Not to mention the psychological harm to people, as this reminds them of war and its long-suffering.
Khotoat organization has finished the activities of removing public buildings that are included in the plan for the removal in the Al-Shaáfa. This town is one of the areas that have been mostly destroyed. Removal activities continued from 20.4.2020 until 14.5.2020 as the following actions had been carried out:
Removing seventeen destroyed sites, including:
– Four public sites: the Agriculture Building, the Electricity Building, the parking lot of Al- Shaáfa, and a water facility,
– Thirteen schools, including seven schools that are still used in education and receive students in part, and six schools are completely destroyed.
Four schools, where war remnants had been found, including “ammunition, individual weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, and mines.”
– The total amount of the removed rubble was “8990” m3. All of these quantities had been recycled, as they had been used to fill holes level roads. “152” m3 of waste had been transferred to the main landfill outside the town.
“8255” of reinforcing steel had been extracted, that had been handed over to the municipalities and to the educational complex.
Project manager Ali Hassoun talked about debris recycling, saying:
We have discussed many sustainable options to deal with the large volume of rubble within the project scope. We tried to find the best environmentally friendly solutions by recycling the debris for use in areas with destroyed buildings. The reinforcing steel has been extracted for reuse by the agency responsible for each site. The debris has been used to fill holes and to level roads.
