Team Making Gaza Garbage into Fuel Wins Japanese-Hosted Contest

Gaza, Aug. 16 (Jiji Press)--A team that developed a device to produce biogas and liquid manure from garbage has won a business contest hosted by young Japanese people in the self-governing Palestinian territory of Gaza. The team, Ecohome, was awarded a prize of 500,000 yen. In Gaza, how to dispose of garbage has been a serious social problem amid a shortage of landfill areas. The contest, the second of its kind and held on Saturday-Monday, was organized by Japan Gaza Innovation Challenge, a nonprofit organization comprising some 20 members including U.N. and corporate workers and university students. It helps young people in Gaza to start businesses for their economic independence. In the territory, sometimes called an open-air prison due to the border blockade by Israel, the jobless rate remains high, particularly among young people. Six of 80 teams passed written screenings and a preliminary round, and took part in the final round of the contest on Monday. Ecohome leader Ibrahim Sabah, 22, who majors in mechanical engineering at his university, started to look at the garbage problem six years ago. Sabah then began to develop a home garbage-disposal device that can sell at about 150 dollars, far lower than some 900 dollars for products available in Israel. According to Sabah, one ton of garbage can produce 30 kilograms of gas that can be used as fuel for cooking. Sabah said that he plans to use the prize money to create the next prototype in order to improve the device further. The device is a good match for conditions in Gaza and has high social benefits, said Akihiro Seita, head of the Department of Health of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and a member of the jury at the contest. END