Research project WtPE Jordan

University cooperation with Jordanian universities in refugee host communities in waste management as part of the project "Waste to (positive) Energy"

Problem and objective

With only about 6 million inhabitants, Jordan has taken in about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 20% live in refugee camps and over 80% in the cities. The volume of waste has increased abruptly as the population has grown, and the already inadequate waste disposal system is now under even greater pressure. In some cases, waste is no longer collected sufficiently and landfill space is becoming scarce. Within the GIZ-funded project "Waste to (positive) Energy", which is primarily concerned with the employment of refugees in the labour-intensive area of waste collection and recycling and with reducing the potential for conflict and environmental pollution in the host Jordanian municipalities, the task of university cooperation is to promote training in the field of waste and recycling management at Jordanian universities. Within this sub-project, teaching materials for modules are being developed which are to be implemented in future engineering courses of study. Furthermore, Jordanian students will come to the German universities involved in the project for several months to write their theses and joint workshops will be organized and carried out in Jordan. In 2019 two workshops will be held in Jordan. In April Dr. Wünsch and André Rückert participated in a workshop at Mutah University and in December Prof. Christina Dornack participated in a workshop at the Jordan University for Science and Technology in Irbid.