Interim Action Plan for Hazardous Waste Management in the Palestinian Territory.

This Interim Action Plan for Hazardous Waste Management in the Palestinian Territory is a nationwide sectoral document prepared in the framework of the second phase of the National Strategy for Solid Waste Management in the Palestinian Territories (NSSWM) 2010-2014. It is a short-term action plan that considers the necessary measures and actions to reduce risks to health and the environment based on the available data and the accomplished reports. The second part of the Action Plan addresses management measures for the leather industry and galvanizing industry, chosen as the priority hot spot areas to focus actions on.
The main goal of this Action Plan is the protection and safety of the environment through an efficient and effective number of actions concerning the HZW management to move towards “zero HZW” in the long term. Efforts in planning the interim HZW management must be concentrated on cleaner production and waste management which favors waste avoidance minimization, reuse, recycling, treatment, and disposal being the last resort. The main Strategic Objectives to achieve the goal are as follows (i) strengthening of the regulatory, authorization, and enforcement role of the PT authority in the sector; (ii) improve related services for industry and municipalities; (iii) ensure coordinated and uniform compliance monitoring and enforcement; (iv) improve the separation of HZW and reduce the amount of HZW mixed with non HZW delivered at landfills; (v) overview on HZW generators, transporters, and treatment, and disposal facilities; (vi) disseminate data on HZW amount, type, storage, treatment and disposal facilities; (vii) provision of a compliant and cost-effective hazardous waste storage, treatment, disposal or export systems to meet the needs of safe final HZW disposal; (viii) improve the capacity of inspectors, member of staff of the HZW department and stakeholders; (ix) develop strengthened communication between all stakeholders.
To increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the main interventions that must be carried out in the waste management sector are (i) explore the use of economic instruments which support the “Polluter Pays Principle; (ii) produce identification/labeling methods for containers and vehicles used to store and transport HZW; (iii) register and accredit HZW service providers; (iv) collaborate with the industrial sector to separate HZW from non-HZW (and transfer HZW to centralized storage/suitable disposal facilities; (v) promotion of tax exemption for industrial sector that abides with HZW management; (vi) register the annual amount of generated HZW and establish cooperation with statistical office; (vii) clarify ownership and site selection; (viii) obtain environmental impact assessment or licenses; (ix) construction of HZW interim storage; (x) establish regional collection points for hazardous waste; (xi) promote public awareness of HZW issues, risk, and precaution.