RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Waste Management, or MWAN, has lunched initiatives to provide a healthy and clean environment for pilgrims throughout the Hajj period. Sultan Al-Harthi, a spokesperson at the center, told Arab News that the initiatives are part of efforts to improve and regulate waste management during the Hajj season, preserving natural resources for future generations. Al-Harthi said one includes a machine that turns food waste into fertilizer, which is initially used within sacred sites, without any emissions or emitting odors during the recycling process. The “Sustainable Ihram” initiative educates pilgrims on the importance of recycling and environmental preservation, he added. It is based on collecting and sorting pilgrims’ textile waste, including ihrams, pillows, blankets and mattresses, followed by recycling and distributing them. Containers will be available in Mina camps and hotels in Makkah where pilgrims can contribute their cloths. The center expects around 50 tonnes of ihrams and more than 300,000 pillows will be collected in cooperation with the relevant authorities. An outreach team is touring the Mina camps in order to ensure the readiness of the initiative, Al-Harthi said. Another initiative will treat waste generated from slaughterhouse carcasses, expected to be more than 12,000 tonnes this year, with teams dedicated to monitoring the activity to ensure safe disposal. The work will begin on Sunday, the first day of Eid Al-Adha. According to Al-Harthi, another initiative seeks to raise awareness of good waste management practices among Hajj service providers. This Hajj season, MWAN has given training courses on sustainable waste management to 121 service providers over the past two weeks, to help them develop their skills and abilities, raise awareness about reducing volume of waste produced, and use environmentally friendly materials that reduce pollution and preserve environmental integrity. The monitoring and inspection team has undertaken dozens of monitoring tours and visited more than 100 facilities to improve the level of operational efficiency of the facilities.