Complaints from residents of Taqbal, a town in northern Irbid Governorate, have resurfaced following a fire at the area's waste transfer station. Residents are again calling for a permanent solution and for the station to be moved outside municipal boundaries, saying they have endured environmental and health problems for years.
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According to residents, the station was built in 2005 or 2006 and was designed to serve as a transfer point where waste would be collected and moved on promptly. They say the reality has been different: waste has accumulated, producing foul odours and smoke, and fires have broken out repeatedly at the site.
Residents say the situation has become a persistent environmental and health concern for them and their families. They are calling on the relevant authorities to treat the issue as an ongoing problem, not merely an isolated incident linked to the most recent fire.
They also note that the station's location, which was relatively distant from residential areas when it was built, is now surrounded by homes and inhabited neighbourhoods as a result of urban expansion. Residents are asking for the site to be reassessed for suitability, and for the collection, storage and transfer procedures to be reviewed so that waste does not accumulate or come into contact with conditions that could cause it to ignite. They say temporary fixes are no longer sufficient given the persistence of the complaints.
Resident Mohammad Bani Hani said that the community's problems with the transfer station are long-standing, and that residents have filed repeated complaints over many years, mainly because of recurring smoke, odours and fires at or near the station.
Bani Hani said residents had hoped from the outset that waste would be held at the station only briefly before being transported to a designated landfill or disposal site. The fact that waste has remained on site for longer than expected, he said, worsened the problem and turned the station into a constant source of concern.
He added that whenever a fire breaks out, residents immediately notify the relevant authorities - in particular the Civil Defence, which attends the site to deal with the flames. He said, however, that extinguishing a fire does not resolve the underlying problem as long as the conditions that cause fires remain in place.
What residents want, Bani Hani said, is not simply for fires to be put out after they start, but for procedures to prevent them from starting in the first place - through properly managed waste reception, sorting and storage, by ensuring that flammable materials are not left on site for extended periods, and by strengthening oversight of how different types of waste are handled.
He said the station's proximity to residential areas means its continued operation in its current location requires serious reconsideration, particularly given the urban expansion the area has seen in recent years. He stressed that residents are not opposed to waste collection services, but are asking for a suitable alternative site away from the population, one that meets the necessary environmental and health requirements.
Resident Ali al-Taani said the recent fire has reopened a longstanding issue for the community, noting that residents have previously raised concerns about the station's odours, smoke and waste accumulation. He said residents had expected the station to collect waste for only a short period before it was transferred, but that waste remaining on site - or being handled in ways that residents believe do not prevent build-up - has kept the problem going.
Al-Taani said residents feel uneasy when they see smoke rising from the station, particularly as the area includes homes and families. He said smoke and odours can reach surrounding residential areas and that the recurrence of such incidents over the years has created widespread frustration. Residents now want the station treated as a comprehensive environmental and service issue requiring a full solution, rather than simply a waste collection point.
Al-Taani said relocating the station to a site well away from residential areas would be the most effective solution, provided the alternative location is chosen on the basis of clear studies and requirements, and meets all safety and environmental standards.
Resident Firas Houri said that residents' calls for the station to be relocated do not stem from objection to waste collection services, but from what they describe as the negative effects of having the station so close to residential areas. He said residents need a safe and clean environment, and that ongoing odours, smoke and fires - even if intermittent - require more serious attention, since the complaints predate the most recent fire by many years.
Houri called for cooperation between the municipality, environmental agencies, service providers and regulatory bodies to assess the station's current condition, determine whether it complies with approved standards, and examine what is causing fires and waste accumulation to recur.
He said relocating the station outside residential areas should be among the options examined seriously, especially given urban expansion and population growth in the area, noting that a location that may have been appropriate when the station was built about two decades ago may no longer be suitable given how the surrounding area has changed.
Ghaith al-Tal, the media spokesman for Greater Irbid Municipality, said the municipality has allocated one million dinars to rehabilitate the Taqbal transfer station. He said a tender for the project has been announced, with the aim of upgrading the station, improving its operational efficiency and raising the quality of services it provides.
Al-Tal said the station experienced a compactor malfunction during the past week, which caused waste to accumulate before the fire broke out. He said the municipality's specialist teams addressed the fault directly and managed to repair the compactors in a short time, enabling the station to resume operations at full capacity.
He said the municipality will take the necessary legal and administrative measures against any party found responsible for negligence, based on the findings of its follow-up and investigation. He added that the municipality is committed to addressing any concerns about the station's operation and to improving waste management practices in a way that ensures continuous service, and higher levels of safety and efficiency at the site.
This article was originally written in Arabic by Al Ghad for Al Ghad. It was translated into English with AI assistance and edited by Jordan News.
