An open-air dump south of the Gaza Strip is piling up rusty batteries that, with no available means of recycling them, form gray mountains several meters high.
“The batteries have been accumulating for almost 15 years”, when Israel imposed a blockade on this Palestinian enclave to contain the Islamist movement Hamas in power, explains Ibrahim Baraka, who works at this dump.
Located near Khan Yunis, in the south of the strip, this 2,000-square-meter center brims with batteries from every corner. Only a narrow aisle is left clear for employees to circulate.
Baraka knows that these devices can be harmful, especially if they are used, but neither he nor the other workers carry special equipment to handle them. Batteries are made up of lead and mercury, chemical elements that are dangerous for the environment and human healthconfirms Mohamed Masleh, director of resources at the Ministry of the Environment in Gaza.
According to this official, There are some 25,000 tons of used batteries waiting to be recycled in the Gaza micro-territory.. And most are stored in spaces not intended for this use, often in the open, he explains.
But in Gaza, these batteries are indispensable: the enclave of 2.3 million inhabitants, with omnipresent power cuts, has only one power plant that depends on fuel deliveries and does not ensure a stable supply.
The batteries began to be used in the 2006 war between Israel and Hamas, when the plant was bombed by Israeli aircraft, and are now connected to numerous panels on the roofs.
earn bread
Faced with the thousands of devices that are stacked up, Baraka regrets that Gaza does not have the necessary material to recycle them and that Israel does not want them. Asked by AFP, Israeli authorities did not comment.
The Hebrew state recently sent a second metal shredder to Gaza and agreed last month to pay for and collect metal objects for recycling purposes, a glimmer of hope for Baraka.
Meanwhile, he and his team disassemble batteries and remove some parts, especially plastic, which they resell to factories.
But this practice has its health risks.. “People are in contact with batteries, children charge them, try to open them with screwdrivers and ten years later, the child has cancer”notes Ahmed Hillis, director of the National Institute for Environment and Development in Gaza.
“Tons of batteries are piled up in landfills, sometimes reaching 40-50 meters high,” and without any recycling process, he laments. And “unfortunately, the same batteries are considered as sources of income.”
“A used 16-amp battery is worth five shekels (1.37 euros) and a 200-amp battery is worth 50 shekels (13.7 euros),” explains Zakaria Abu Sultan, as she walks the alleys of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza. .
“Who’s got old batteries to sell?” he shouts through a megaphone perched on a horse-drawn cart. His hope is to recover some and earn some money by sending them to the scrapyard. On that day, the 27-year-old has only achieved three.
In a territory mined by poverty and unemployment, this activity serves to earn a living, but those who practice it do so “without following any rules and without having experience in collecting dangerous products”, says Hillis, who calls for stricter regulation to protect the population. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
