TEHRAN -- Tehrani citizens can sell their dry waste in the near future through an application introduced by Tehran Municipality, the head of waste management organization of Tehran Municipality announced, Fars reported on Thursday.

Reza Abdoli said that the application will be available for Tehrani citizens in the next Iranian calendar year, beginning on March 21, 2019.

Up to now, the citizens living in district 2 and 11 can use the application and sell their dry waste by announcing their location, he said.

He made the remarks during the international waste management, recycling, and the related industries and machinery fair, being held from December 5 to 8 in Tehran.

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 year.

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. 

SB/MQ/MG