TEHRAN — Waste management has set alarm bells ringing for the residents of the Iranian capital, Tehran, the head of Tehran province’s department of environment said on Friday.

Kiumars Kalantari made the remarks over a clean-up scheme on the occasion of the International Mother Earth Day, April 22, here in Tehran.

Speaking on waste management, Kalantari noted that 25 percent of the waste produced in the metropolis of Tehran is recyclable and 70 percent can be converted to compost.

There are 21 bodies responsible in waste management sector, Kalantari said, adding, there are serious shortcomings in this sector, especially waste segregation at source, which need to be addressed. 

There are also 81 non-government groups active in the field of environment in the province of Tehran who are always deeply concerned about the environment and are accompanying the environmental bodies, he highlighted.

According to a report published by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in October 2016, waste generation per capita in Iran’s urban areas is about 658 grams per day while Iranian waste generation per capita in rural areas is about 220-340 grams per day. Average Iranian waste generation per capita amounts to some 240 kilograms per year. 

In Tehran alone waste generation per capita is estimated at 750-800 grams per day and each Tehrani citizen generates about 270-450 kilograms of waste per years.

The report continues that unfortunately only 7 percent of the waste is separated at the source, 13 percent is recycled and only 2.5 percent of them end up in formal or sanitary landfills and some 77.5 percent of the waste will be burnt or buried in informal landfills located in the countryside or deserts near cities.

MQ/MG