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Rabat – A non-profit environmental association in Morocco partnered with the Ministry of Energy, and launched an awareness campaign aimed at sensitizing citizens to the importance of keeping the streets and neighborhoods of major cities clean during Eid al-Adha.
The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Environment and the Oxygen Association for Environment and Health organized a campaign under the slogan “Eid Moubarak Nadif,” meaning Happy Clean Eid.
The campaign usually involves caravans offering awareness sessions, and distributing ecological trash bags and flyers.
The caravaneer’s actions are to encourage citizens to maintain the cleanliness of public spaces and environments on the three days of Eid.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the campaign this year is mostly virtual. Videos and online flyers are shared, and online awareness is proving to be just as effective.
Morocco World News contacted Ayoub Krir, President of the Oxygen Association for Environment and Health, and researcher in the field of science and sustainable development.
Despite the celebratory nature of this holiday, Ayoub Krir said that we still regularly witness an “environmental massacre” resulting from irresponsible and uneducated practices.
Several factors contribute to this problem according to Krir, including putting waste into undesignated areas, mixing liquid waste with solids, and not putting waste in bags before it’s disposed of.
The president of the oxygen association also highlighted the dangers these actions could cause, considering these actions coincide with the summer season and the frequent heat waves, contributing to the spread of illnesses and viruses.
The NGO and the ministry both stressed the importance of compliance, in light of the current epidemiological situation associated with the process of slaughtering sacrificial animals.
Considering the current epidemiological crisis, these risks can be exacerbated, and lead to the worsening of the Covid-19 crisis.
Covid-19 symptoms were reportedly worsened by air pollution. The irresponsible and unhealthy behaviors frequently seen during Eid, are said to have a hand in the aggravation of Covid complications.
A recent study showed how polluted air can render COVID-19 more lethal, and the scale of the effect was striking. A study found that the tiny pollutant particles known as PM2.5, inhaled over time, significantly increases the chances of dying from the virus.
We asked Krir about the efficiency of the campaigns, he said that “the public has been quite receptive to the awareness initiatives, especially within the younger demographic.”
Despite the campaign being mostly virtual, the Oxygen Association President is hopeful that it will have a positive impact on the population, as it did prior to this year.
Morocco also endures significant economic losses, when outlined good case practices are ignored.
This is due to the lack of recycling systems for sheep skin, for instance.
“The repurposing of sheep skin is made impossible by the irresponsible ways with which families deal with the surprisingly valuable resource,” said the environmentalist.
Many job opportunities can be created through the implementation of a nation-wide sheepskin recycling program, as well as a substantial decrease in costs for businesses and artisans who rely on leather as a primary manufacturing resource.
Both the ministry and the environmental NGO stressed that these campaigns are motivated by both the necessity to remind Moroccans to comply with general cleanliness guidelines for health reasons, and to remind people of the necessity to properly dispose of Eid waste to keep up the healthiness of urban environments.
Among the guidelines issued by the ministry and the NGO are to place waste in designated garbage bins, in a manner that is not hazardous to people’s health and the environment.
Citizens are urged to throw out their garbage during the time when garbage trucks are passing to facilitate the process, as well as making sure to separate liquids from solid waste and tightly close the trash bags.
Over the past few years, waste has been accumulating significantly in public areas across Morocco, primarily due to the lack of environmental awareness of its effects, and the insufficient public education campaigns broadcast through public media.
