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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A garbage truck driver alleged on Tuesday that children under the age of ten are working as informal waste pickers and scavengers at the Kani Qirzhala sub-district landfills, west of Erbil.
'There are children aged four to ten working there. We are afraid they might fall under the garbage piles and we cannot do our jobs because of them. The children collect and search for [valuable] things [they can trade off] for money,' the truck driver told Rudaw.
For his part, the head of Erbil's services and environmental protection Zhyar Jalal told Rudaw that despite blocking the main entrance, people still find ways to enter the landfills.
'Due to the absence of a committee overseeing these junkyards, everyone can enter the garbage landfills,' Jalal told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Ahmed Mohammed, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Board of Environment, mentioned that police could be dispatched to the landfills through the Erbil governor's office. However, he suggested that the Region's municipalities ministry build high walls around the garbage sites to prevent entry.
Meanwhile, Jalal stressed that preventing children from entering the landfills has been a challenge. 'How many police officers should we dispatch and for how long? It is a bit complicated,' he elaborated.
Jalal also noted that a recycling plant will soon begin operations in Erbil, where all waste will be processed and 'nothing will remain there [at the landfills].'
Importantly, a professor at the Erbil Medical University, warned in an interview with Rudaw that 'landfills are a breeding ground for diseases.' Dr. Sherwan Mohammed asserted that 'those working in the landfills must use protective equipment.'
The uncollected wastes at the Kani Qirzhala landfills are either buried or burned, releasing dangerous toxins and greenhouse gases such as methane into the atmosphere.
Residents of nearby areas have repeatedly complained to government officials that they cannot use air conditioning in their homes, especially during the summer season, because of the overwhelming odors.
Erbil's trash has been collected and buried in Kani Qirzhala's garbage site since 2003.
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