Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is solid and semi-solid materials produced by households, as well as other waste similar in nature and composition resulting from any activity (commerce, offices, public institutions, etc.) and not included in the definition of harmful and hazardous waste, that are collected by or on behalf of municipal authorities or by the private sector (business or private non-profit institutions) and disposed of through the waste management system. Millions of metric tons of MSW are generated in Jordan from agricultural, municipal and industrial sources every year. The growing industrialization and high population growth rate due to the recent forced migration has led to a rapid increase in solid waste generation in the country which has, in turn, put increasing pressure on the existing waste management infrastructure.
The current Solid Waste Management (SWM) services within the local municipalities are no longer of the same standard as that prior to the massive influx of refugees and the daily generation rate of MSW has dramatically increased.
350 tons of waste is currently being generated daily in Irbid and Mafraq; which should be collected and hauled away by the municipalities to the relevant final landfill “disposal sites”.