“People who had never picked up trash before, and people who weren’t particularly interested in environmental issues, were starting to join. I think that’s because we presented litter picking as a sport.”

That insight comes from Kenichi Mamitsuka, the Japanese innovator who turned garbage collection into a competitive team sport known as spogomi — a portmanteau of sport and gomi, the Japanese word for trash. If you’ve ever visited Tokyo, you will get a taste for just how fussy the Japanese are about picking up trash. They use claw graspers for tiny bits of things, and scrub brushes on sidewalks.

What began as a local experiment has grown into something unexpectedly global. Spogomi now includes organized leagues, referees, time limits, scoring systems, and even a World Cup, drawing participants who might otherwise never attend a beach cleanup or environmental rally. The story, recently highlighted by National Geographic, points to a powerful truth: behavior change doesn’t always start with ideology. Sometimes, it starts with play.

Want to know the rules?

Environmental movements have long struggled with a perception problem. Too often, they feel moralistic, joyless, or reserved for the already converted. Spogomi flips that script. It reframes responsibility as action, and action as something social, physical, and — crucially — fun. Teams compete not just on volume of trash collected, but on sorting accuracy and teamwork. Winning isn’t symbolic – you can measure it.

There’s something quietly radical about this approach. By removing guilt and replacing it with momentum, spogomi attracts people motivated by camaraderie, competition, and pride rather than climate anxiety. It also sidesteps politics. You don’t need to agree on why waste is a problem to agree that it shouldn’t be on the street.

In a world saturated with environmental messaging, spogomi offers a reminder that solutions don’t always need to be heavier. Sometimes they need to be lighter — structured like a game, grounded in community, and designed to meet people where they already are.

The post Play spogomi the garbage picking sport and win a World Cup appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israeli street artist Nitzan Mintz writes her poems on the streets of Tel Aviv, using disregarded materials she collects from dumpsters and public spaces. “I use only recycled materials in my art,” she said.

Nitzan is not alone. Artists across the Middle East have responded to the massive recycling crisis by upcycling trash into art. There are many benefits for artists that use waste to create, both financial and creative.

“I use birdcages, pieces of wood, anything,” said Nitzan.

“I love the connection between me and these objects I find. They inspire me to make something new. It’s like a gift from God. I need art materials and I find them.”

She composes her art according the particular site, incorporating space and environment into her designs. And unlike many street artists, Nitzan signs her real name to all her work. “I take full responsibility for my art in the streets,” she said in an interview with Times of Israel. “I never harm the environment or cause damage to people’s property.”

Here is an example of a work she made with local artists Gili Peleg and Signor Gi.

Nitzan’s Hebrew poetry murals are a great example of eco-friendly innovation, turning garbage into art. And we look forward to seeing more of her work around Israel.

Images via the artist and Urban Existenz 

Read more about sustainable art in the Middle East:
Ali Lamu Upcycles Weathered Dhow Sails into Inspiring Art
White Trash, An Ecological Group Exhibition, Opens in Tel Aviv Next Week
Dazzling Carpet of Plastic Bottles Adorns the Moroccan Desert

The post Israeli Poet Nitzan Mintz Makes Sustainable Art Stick To The Streets appeared first on Green Prophet.

A YTheater initiative, Take-Away will unite veteran and novice actors from a variety of backgrounds in a multimedia stage performance that explores what each household and community’s trash reveals about them. But they need help from the crowd. At the time of writing, YTheater has just 38 hours to raise enough funds on Kickstarter to put on three exciting, grassroots performances.

Take-Away is no ordinary play. Unlike a similar, groundbreaking initiative in Lebanon called 10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash, this production will take place on a proper stage.

The plot involves a greedy entrepreneur who intends to displace a group of garbage harvesters, a story that will be delivered with a combination of video art, music and shadow play, as well as a host of recycled props fashioned from local trash.

Jersulam-based YTheater’s Kickstarter brief is philosophical, reflecting the thoughtful origins of what promises to be an enlightening performance.

“Refugees from large and small wars eat, sleep, shower, forage & garden together on a sacred hill that has become a garbage dump,” they write.

“At the cross-roads of survival and sanctity, the characters navigate satire and self-reflection, destruction and remorse. Even as the intruder offers the possibility of redemption from banal daily life, she sows seeds of enmity that jeopardize home, love and community.”

But why trash? It is telling that a rising number of artists, designers and journalists are choosing something so seemingly peripheral to daily life as rubbish. But it turns out that examining our waste practices can be an educational and even transformative experience.

“For the past year, YTheater has been unearthing how we trash material and one another,” the Kickstarter brief reads.

“Our trash reveals what we eat, where we work, how we play, what we own, our family life and health, what we care about – how we treat our friends, our neighborhood, our enemies, and the world. From what and how we discard, we learn about our lives, choices and priorities. We probe how and why we relate to things and even people as a means to fulfilling our ends.”

YTheater was founded by Bonna Devora Haberman, who holds a doctorate in ethics and education and trained in theater with Augusto Boal, creator of Theater of the Oppressed, as well as Kadar Herini, who trained in acting and direction at the Al-Jamilla College for Arts in Ramalla and founded “The Comic Theater” in Al-Azaria. 

For more information or to support this worthy project, please check out YTheater’s Kickstarter campaign. They’re so close to reaching their goal.

The post Take-Away: Israelis and Palestinians Talk Trash in Grassroots Play appeared first on Green Prophet.

We speak to waste management expert Salman Zafar about the region’s mounting trash problem and why it’s outpacing all efforts to deal with it

A recent report by the World Bank predicts that by 2025, city dwellers could produce as much as 2.2 billion tonnes of solid waste a year – that’s a 70% increase on the current 1.3 billion which is generated. It’s a scary thought to have to live in all that trash. However cities across the Middle East already appear to be living in mountains of trash with rubbish strewn across deserts in Gulf nations, on busy streets in Tunisia, in canals and open waterways in Egypt and in dangerous landfills in Kuwait.

“On the whole, MENA countries are slowly, but steadily, gearing up to meet the challenge posed by waste by investing heavily in [sold waste management] projects, sourcing new technologies and raising public awareness,” explains waste-expert Salman Zafar. “However the pace of progress is not matched by the increasing amount of waste generated across the region.” I caught up with Zafar to find out more and ask what the region can do to get a grip on its trash problems.

Tell us a little about yourself, your expertise and the range of work you do.
I am a chemical engineer by education and have been working in the cleantech sector after completing my education in 2004. My core areas of expertise are waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy and sustainability. I am an entrepreneur, a consultant, a writer and a speaker. EcoMENA was launched to increase environmental awareness and encourage community participation in sustainable development initiatives in Middle East and North Africa. Apart from EcoMENA, I run two other cleantech advisory firms cum resource websites BioEnergy Consult and Cleantech Solutions. I am heavily involved in spreading mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management and resource conservation through my websites, blogs and projects.

What are the biggest problems of the region in terms of waste and trash creation?
Lavish lifestyle, ineffective legislations, infrastructural roadblocks, indifferent public attitude and lack of environmental awareness are the major factors responsible for growing waste management problem in the Middle East, especially GCC. High standards of living are contributing to more generation of waste which when coupled with lack of waste collection and disposal facilities have transformed ‘trash’ into a liability. Though Islam puts much stress on waste minimization, Arab countries are among the world’s highest per capita waste generators which is really unfortunate. Dumping of waste in open spaces, deserts and water bodies is a common sight across the region. Another critical issue is lack of awareness and public apathy towards waste reduction, source segregation and waste management.

What are the barriers holding back countries from taking action to deal with these problems?
Solid waste management in MENA countries is bogged down by deficiencies in waste management legislations and poor planning. Many countries lack legislative framework and regulations to deal with wastes. Insufficient funds, absence of strategic waste management plans, lack of coordination among stakeholders, shortage of skilled manpower and deficiencies in technical and operational decision-making are some of the hurdles experienced in implementing an integrated waste management strategy in MENA. In many countries waste management is the sole prerogative of state-owned companies and municipalities which discourages the participation of private companies and entrepreneurs.

What do the attitudes of the MENA region citizens to trash and rubbish say about their commitment to dealing with other environmental issues?
The general perception towards waste is that of indifference and apathy. Waste is treated as ‘waste’ rather than as a ‘resource’. There is an urgent need to increase public awareness about environmental issues, waste management practices and sustainable living. Public participation in community-level waste management initiatives is lacklustre mainly due to low level of environmental awareness and public education. Unfortunately none of the countries in the region have an effective source-segregation mechanism.

Are government policies, new technologies or shifts in attitudes the solution to the region’s trash problems?
A sustainable waste management system demands high degree of public participation, effective legislations, sufficient funds and modern waste management practices/technologies. The region can hope to improve waste management scenarios by implementing source-segregation, encouraging private sector participation, deploying recycling and waste-to-energy systems, and devising a strong legislative and institutional framework.

Are there any countries or projects that are leading the way in terms of efficient waste management?
In recent years, several countries, like Qatar and UAE, have established ambitious solid waste management projects but their efficacy is yet to be ascertained. On the whole, MENA countries are slowly, but steadily, gearing up to meet the challenge posed by waste management by investing heavily in such projects, sourcing new technologies and raising public awareness. However the pace of progress is not matched by the increasing amount of waste generated across the region. Sustainable waste management is a big challenge for policy-makers, urban planners and other stake-holders, and immediate steps are needed to tackle mountains of wastes accumulating in cities throughout MENA.

For more on the region’s trash problem see:

Kuwait’s Towering Trash Problem

Libya’s Post-Revolution Trash and Traffic Problems

Lebanon’s Trash Gets An Audience With The (B)IM Project Play

Heaping Urban Trash May Be More Serious Than Climate Change

Egypt’s Filthy Canals Are Breeding Disease & Discontent

Image of a slum in Downtown of Fez, Morocco via Shutterstock.com

The post Trash Talk in the Middle East- Interview with Salman Zafar appeared first on Green Prophet.

For such a tiny nation, Kuwait produces some of the world’s highest per capita amounts of trash

Rubbish may not be the glamorous topic to think about but it is probably the most relatable. We all throw out trash such as packaging which only seems to serve us momentarily or food which wasn’t eaten in time. In Kuwait, citizens are particularly familiar with trash as they generate among the highest per capita amounts of waste in the world. The tiny nation produces more than 2 million tonnes of solid waste which has disastrous consequences. The main form of solid waste disposal used is landfill burial which comes with its own set of problems – as the tyre fire which broke earlier this year demonstrated.

Kuwait has 18 landfills; 14 are now closed and four of which are still in operation. Indeed most landfills have been closed for more than 20 years as they are located near residential and commercial areas. The migration of water which has passed through the landfills and leached some of the constituents of the waste solids is a real concern for those living close to the dumping sites. According to EcoMena, “groundwater contamination has emerged as a serious problem because groundwater occurs at shallow depths throughout the country.”

As well as ‘hiding’ lots of rubbish, landfills generate huge amounts of toxic gases such as methane and are plagued with spontaneous fires. Food waste, construction waste, industrial waste and municpal waste are all dumped on the landfills without much regards for their toxic implications. The total land area of Kuwait is around 17,820 sq. km – more than 18 sq. km is occupied by landfills.

Salman Zafar, a renowned expert in waste management and sustainable development explains: “Over the years, most of the dumpsites in Kuwait have been surrounded by residential and commercial areas due to urban development over the years. Uncontrolled dumpsites were managed by poorly-trained staff resulting in transformation of dumpsites in breeding grounds for pathogens, toxic gases and spontaneous fires… Some of the landfills are located on the edges of residential, as is the case of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Al-Qurain sites endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.”

For more waste in the Middle East see: 

Tire Fire In Kuwait Seen From Space 

Libya’s Post Revolution Trash and Traffic Problems

The Garbage Women Of Turkey Turn Trash Into Trendsetting Handbags

:: Image of tire fire in Kuwait via EcoMENA.org

The post Kuwait’s Towering Trash Problem appeared first on Green Prophet.

Clear Libyan streets of trash and traffic for a brighter and more democratic future says expert

Security concerns in Libya may be top of the political agenda, but more goodwill could be earned if socio-economic problems such as traffic and trash are tackled says Rhiannon Smith, who is an economic development expert in Libya. Post-revolution, Libya is struggling with pressing security concerns, disunity and division along religious and ethnic lines. As such, political progress away from a long authoritarian past to a more democratic future has been painfully slow. The solution is tackling problems that all Libyans face and there isn’t more that unites Libyans in despair than the traffic and trash problem.

These “are issues that could be actively addressed with minimal controversy and relatively little effort which would not only improve living standards across the country, but also lay the groundwork for the psychological transition from authoritarianism to democracy,” writes Smith in OpenDemocracy.

With petrol cheaper than mineral water and a threadbare public transport infrastructure, the streets of Libya are congested and dangerous. A hike in petrol prices and greater enforcement of traffic rules is one quick solution whilst the public infrastructure is built up. As well as cutting back the congestion, the traffic law enforcement could be the “first step towards re-establishing rule of law in post-Gaddafi Libya.”

Another major issue facing Libyans is trash. On the streets, in the alleyways, in parks and schools, it’s clear that the country has a chronic litter problem. The main reason behind this is the absence of an organised, well-funded rubbish collection service and a general acceptance of littering. Smith argues that a massive overhaul is needed in the long-run but for now, a bigger workforce and modern collection vehicles would be a step in the right direction.

“Not only would the environment be cleaner and healthier, removing the litter could help kindle Libya’s fledgling tourism industry,” adds Smith. “Perhaps more importantly, cleaning the streets will show that the government is doing its job and might encourage people to consider the consequences of throwing their rubbish on the streets.”

It turns out that what’s good for the planet is also good for democracy – and there is nowhere that could benefit from more democracy and environmental action than the Arab world.

: OpenDemocracy

:: Image of Libyan children cleaning the streets via Times of Malta.

For more on Libya see:

Was The Arab Spring Good for Renewable Energy?

Libyan Artist Turns Weapons of War Into Sculptures

MENA is Changing Drastically & NASA Has The Pictures To Prove It

The post Libya’s Post-Revolution Trash and Traffic Problems appeared first on Green Prophet.

Environment Minister Yaseen Khayyat said the project is being carried out in cooperation with the private sector.

Throughout the Levant, there is an increasing awareness about the connections between education and recycling. But like their neighbors in the  West Bank, Jordanians suffer from a lack of infrastructure for waste management. According to environmental experts, most of the Kingdom’s municipalities, aside from Amman, dispose of solid waste in open spaces without lining, management or any sort of biogas collection.

Khayyat said that he hopes these waste management projects create a culture of recycling in Jordan. The Jordanian government recently passed legislation on renewable energy. And there also they have turned to the private sector. Perhaps these new public programs will be able to invigorate Jordan’s economy while increasing environmental awareness. If successful, these Jordanian programs could become a regional role model for how policies can make economics serve the public good.

::The Jordan Times

Image of Amman, Jordan via Andy Clarke, Shutterstock

Read more about Jordan:

Jordan Society for Renewable Energy’s Eco-House Education

New Eco-Park Opens In Jordan

Jordan Gets REEL About Renewables

The post Jordan Implements New Recycling Program appeared first on Green Prophet.

The first of ten $10,000 prizes was awarded to Tusingwire at the recent TEDx Summit in Doha, Qatar. In keeping with the City 2.0 competition’s philosophy of linking short-term vision with long-term action, the TEDx Kampala founder will build an amusement park entirely out of recycled plastic bottles so that children marginalized by inequality, poverty and war will at least have a safe place to play.

Called Recycled Amusement, Tusingwire’s proposal is designed to not only create a fun play space, but also to draw attention to the city’s enormous waste problem. Albeit not unique among African countries, the city is drowning in waste and the government is moving slowly to remedy the crisis.

A graduate of the Department of Art & Design at Kyambogo University, Tusingwire plans to use the prize money to establish a modest loan program for a group of female eco-artists in the country’s capital. He also hopes to grow TEDx Kampala in order to foster even more beneficial social programs.

Once he switched his artistic attention from the self to the greater community, Tusingwire has experienced a great personal transformation.

“It’s helped me realize my value to society,” he explained during his TESx pitch in Qatar. “Art is unifying. We can use what is around us to create treasure, employment opportunities, and make the environment better. There is a wonderful world of possibilities before us.”

The Kampala resident first became interested in turning waste into beautiful works of art while he was in university. Ready to take up the cause again, he has already completed his first attraction for the recycled amusement park – a funky, colorful airplane made entirely out of plastic.

Artists in the Middle East and North Africa are also turning to recycled materials in order to reduce their environmental footprint and raise awareness. And a taxi driver from Gaza went so far as to build an affordable electric vehicle using found scraps – all of which attest to the ingenuity of humanity even in times of great duress.

Stay tuned for more details from TED and City 2.0.

:: Greener Ideal

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Lebanon is drowning in trash. Now artists are making theatre out of the mess. I think it’s safe to say that ‘10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash’ is unlike any theatre production you have ever heard of. I’s free and takes place outdoors in various locations across the Lebanese coast. Secondly, the stage and props (and some of the costumes) are made entirely out of everyday trash collected and reclaimed by the artists over a couple of months.

And thirdly, the play is taking place in collaboration with the Lebanese environmental NGO IndyACT and hopes to encourage locals to recycle. So, for these reasons we got in touch with the organisers at (B)IM project to find out more.

“Theatre has to power to move people emotionally, or at the very least, to make them take notice,” explains Denise Maroney, producer of The (B)IM Project to Green Prophet.

“Our collaboration with IndyACT allows the audience to take action and learn concrete facts about where to recycle in Lebanon, how to reduce daily waste and what NGOs/initiatives are currently working to improve Lebanonʼs environment.” As well working in collaboration with IndyACT, a fair will take place at each (B)IM production to showcase various local green initiatives and pass on practical advice.

Beginning on the corniche of Tyre, the (B)IM project will move across the corniche of Saida, Beirut and Tripoli. 10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash is an original play developed with a cast of five actors and written and directed by Camille Brunel-Aoun. It examines Lebanese social behaviour towards trash whilst injecting a dose of humour and original music to inspire people to take action.

“The play is a journey through the life and habits of 5 characters who deal with garbage, both consciously and unconsciously,” explains Maroney to GreenProphet.com. “The play offers metaphors for the absurdity of a society that ignores the dirt it is breathing in every day and the danger it is creating for itself. The title ‘10453’ references the official square area of Lebanon (10,453 km2). We added an extra kilometer (10453) to allude to the growing kilometers of trash that are popping up across Lebanon’s coast,” she adds.

Denise Marony told me that she hoped the play will strike a chord with the audience about the tragedy of trash pollution in Lebanon. That it will help ‘sensitize’ them once more to the trash all around them and inspire them to take individual action to stop the pollution.

Brunel- Aoun who wrote the play added: “It is necessary that we reflect upon ourselves, both our familial and social life. We must break the infernal cycle of things we produce, consume and dispose… We nee to criticize bad behaviour with humour – this is what we are doing with a crazy hope that theatre has the power to transform people!”

Cast: Daniel Balabane, Hadi Deaibess, Tony Kahoush, Raghda Mouawad & Kholoud Nasser

Writer & Director: Camille Brunel Aoun

Set Design: Charbel Samuel Aoun

Costume Design: Denise Maroney

Sound Design: Jana Saleh

Produced by: The (B)IM Project

For more information about the play and when the performance will take place go to http://www.thebimproject.com

For more eco-initiatives in Lebanon see:
Burning Tires the Bokja Way – A Colourful Protest Against Beirut Pollution
Green Wheel is an Energy- Harvesting Machine for Beirut Runners
Mayor Launched ‘Beirut is Amazing’ City Greening Plan

The post Lebanon’s Trash Theatre & the True Cost of Rubbish appeared first on Green Prophet.

We’ve often wondered: do people in the Middle East just not see the trash that has taken over their lives? 10453: A Story About Life in 1 km2 of Trash answers that question with a roaring yes. they. do.

Written & directed by Camille Brunel Aoun and produced by The (B)IM Project or Books in Motion, this public comedy portrays life among trash. We didn’t get to see it as it was staged in three locations throughout Lebanon, including Tyre, Saida and Beirut, but we do have a few pictures from their Facebook page and a link to a short video teaser after the jump.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGkQTe3MQ-A[/youtube]

In its three-year lifetime, (B)IM has reached 10,000 people with free public productions rooted in the culture, history and literature of Lebanon. 10453, their fourth such production, tackles a disaster that has reached epic proportions throughout the country.

If you haven’t already, check out our coverage of burning tires and creative resistance to them. Read about Lebanon’s Mediterranean apocalypse – diving among waters devoid of life, and you’ll get a sense of just how pervasive are the problems of poor waste management.

Sadly, a great majority of the stories we cover in Lebanon can be tied to some kind of pollution, which denies its populace the cultural depth, great food, and fascinating historical heritage that once defined foreign perceptions.

So it’s great to see the people speak against this preventable Ecocide. Good art reaches into the heart and stirs up emotions – wanted or otherwise, which in turn provokes action. Judging by the reaction of audience members (“it brought tears to my eyes,” “we’re watching a horror film”), 10453 has done well to plant a seed.

And lest the trash mountain seem too tall to summit, there are solutions. Rola reminds us that, for starters, we can harvest the energy that languishes among the great trash mountains in Sidon, Tyre and elsewhere.

How sad that our generation has been left to make art with junk, the leftovers of an epoch of devastating greed. And yet how wonderful that we are still capable of it.

All images via the (B)IM Project Facebook Page 

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