Gender and Environment - Incorporating Women in Recycling/Sorting Plastic Solid Waste in Refugee Camps in the South of Palestine: Indoor Sustainable Solid Waste Management System

Sustainable waste management is a pathway to a green economy; minimizing waste and pollution, creating sustainable job opportunities, increasing income, protecting vulnerable livelihoods, and alleviating poverty. The project focuses on creating job opportunities for both women and men through creating an indoor, sustainable, solid waste management system in five Palestinian refugee camps in the South of Palestine. Thus, this project improves living conditions of Palestinians residing in refugee camps. The project puts great emphasis on women as the major success points to gear the project towards enhancing and improving their socio-economic status at the household level, and of the overall community. In addition, the management of household waste is, to a large extent, more the responsibility of women than of men; therefore, training and awareness-raising campaigns, and activities regarding domestic waste management will be used in this project. Furthermore, it will address the problem of increased environmental pollution in refugee camps created by the accumulation of mainly plastic solid waste, and play a major role in protecting the environment, by reducing the harmful, plastic substances in the camps. The overall goal is to contribute towards improving the quality of life, standard of living, and empowerment of Palestinians, living in refugee camps in the Hebron and Bethlehem areas. The purpose of the project is also to increase incomes for Palestinian refugees, empower women by creating job opportunities, and support sustainable livelihoods in refugee camps. United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) will play a major role in funding the project, with the integration and cooperation of its department and programs, for the purpose of ensuring the achievement of UNRWA’s Human Development Goals: long and healthy lives, a healthy living environment for Palestine refugees, and a decent standard of living (UNRWA 2014e).