Northern Jordan Valley — While most traditional environmental campaigns come to an end once the commemorative photos are taken and volunteer hours are over, more than 70 volunteers in Sheikh Hussein town in the Northern Jordan Valley chose a different approach.
Rather than simply removing waste dumped along roadsides, they sought to reshape citizens’ daily behavior and reinforce the concept of shared responsibility for protecting public spaces.
The “Waste Bag” initiative, implemented by the Sheikh Hussein Sustainable Development Association in cooperation with the Jordan Valley Environment Directorate, Tabaqat Fahl Municipality, and the Sheikh Hussein Youth Center, aims to combat the indiscriminate dumping of waste.
The initiative highlights a recurring environmental challenge whose effects are increasingly visible in public spaces. Over time, littering can evolve from an individual mistake into widespread visual pollution that affects the local environment and public health.
Environmental Protection as an Investment
Director of the Jordan Valley Environment Directorate Engineer Mohammad Al-Saqour said protecting the environment also means protecting the region’s economic, agricultural and tourism sectors.
He noted that field partnerships with civil society organizations and youth centers form a key foundation for improving environmental conditions in the Jordan Valley.
“What we witnessed in Sheikh Hussein represents the model we seek to establish across the Jordan Valley,” Al-Saqour said. “Environmental work is no longer merely a response to enforcing laws or conducting seasonal cleanup campaigns. It is a direct investment in the region’s future and sustainable development, particularly because the Jordan Valley has unique environmental, agricultural and tourism characteristics that make maintaining clean public spaces essential.”
He added that environmental awareness and youth participation are among the directorate’s top priorities, as changing behavior is one of the fastest and most effective ways to combat visual pollution and reduce indiscriminate waste dumping.
“When young people and adolescents personally take part in collecting waste and distributing car waste bags to drivers, we are instilling concepts of self-monitoring and changing everyday behavior,” he said.
Government agencies and municipalities provide logistical services and infrastructure, he explained, but the success of these efforts ultimately depends on citizens’ response and commitment to reducing littering. Such commitment can be strengthened through integrated partnerships.
Al-Saqour said the simple “car waste bag” reflects an awareness-based approach that goes beyond the physical container itself. It provides passengers with a practical alternative to throwing waste through vehicle windows, allowing them to keep it until they reach designated waste bins.
The initiative demonstrates that the desired environmental transformation does not necessarily require complex or costly projects, he said, but can begin with simple daily decisions based on personal responsibility.
The field efforts resulted in the collection of more than 85 bags of waste from targeted areas, in addition to the distribution of around 70 bags designed for use inside vehicles.
A Model for Development Partnership
Volunteers said practical coordination among different sectors contributed to the initiative’s success.
Some organizations provided supervision, organization and development guidance, while others offered technical oversight, environmental support and awareness activities. Other partners handled logistical coordination and field services, while young people were mobilized to strengthen community participation.
This cooperation reinforced the idea that environmental protection is a shared public responsibility requiring a collective response that brings together official resources and community efforts.
Nisreen Bani Doumi, president of the Sheikh Hussein Sustainable Development Association, said the concept of comprehensive development is no longer limited to traditional assistance but extends to awareness and field initiatives that directly affect people’s daily lives.
“Real development means building awareness, encouraging participation and establishing a culture of social responsibility,” she said.
She added that the participation of Sheikh Hussein volunteers represents a practical step demonstrating that environmental protection does not begin after waste reaches the ground. It begins earlier, at the moment people decide how to handle their waste consciously and responsibly.
She stressed the importance of continuing such initiatives, noting that environmental protection cannot be tied to a single day but requires continuous accumulation of awareness and positive behavior.
More than 70 volunteers took part, she said, demonstrating the presence of untapped community energy and a genuine willingness to contribute when people are given the opportunity to move from being recipients of services to partners in creating solutions.
Participant Alia Khaled said field volunteering gives individuals a different perspective that deepens their understanding of environmental conditions.
Protecting the environment is a shared responsibility and cannot rest solely on official bodies, she said, adding that citizens remain the first line of defense against the problem by refraining from indiscriminate dumping.
Waste that people may pass every day without noticing becomes much more visible in scale and impact when volunteers physically collect it, she said. This transforms volunteers into environmental ambassadors who carry the message to their families and communities.
“If the targeted areas remain clean, drivers continue using the designated bags, and residents recognize the importance of public cleanliness, then the campaign will have achieved its sustainable objectives,” Khaled said.
“But if waste begins accumulating again at the same rate, that will increase the need for intensified awareness efforts aimed at changing community behavior.”
Volunteer Yousef Ahmad said he was very happy to distribute car waste bags to drivers with the team.
“The response was excellent. Many drivers smiled, thanked us and promised to use them,” he said. “I felt a great sense of responsibility because I was playing a role no less important than that of any official body in protecting our area and its beautiful natural environment.”
He added that some people throw waste from vehicle windows because there is no designated place inside their cars to keep it.
“This simple gesture of distributing bags puts the solution directly in drivers’ hands, removes any excuse for throwing waste from windows and makes them think twice before throwing anything onto the street,” he said.
Environmental and community activists hope to expand the initiative and implement it throughout the Jordan Valley, particularly with winter approaching, when the area typically receives large numbers of visitors and picnickers from across the Kingdom.
This increases pressure on natural sites and public facilities and leads to greater amounts of waste and litter being left behind.
Activists said expanding the Sheikh Hussein experience ahead of the tourism season could help protect the valley’s agricultural and tourism environment while strengthening its position as a clean and sustainable tourism destination.
Source: Al Ghad
