“Daily waste burning has become part of our lives, and the smoke is suffocating the breaths of our young children,” says Suad Jaber, a housewife in the Zahraa neighborhood in Muadamiyat al Sham, speaking to +963 as plumes of smoke rise from piles of garbage scattered across the streets. The city, located west of Damascus, is drowning in a worsening waste crisis, with residents relying on burning as a quick solution while the responsible authorities remain unable to provide sustainable alternatives.
Muadamiyat al Sham is experiencing a severe waste crisis driven by weak infrastructure, a lack of necessary machinery, and the declining financial capabilities of the local council. This situation has pushed residents to burn waste in front of homes and shops, generating thick smoke and suffocating odors that directly affect public health and increase the spread of insects and rodents, turning the scene into a daily suffering that goes beyond service shortages to a tangible environmental and health threat.
Mohammad Taha, 55 years old, a resident of the city, tells +963 that the situation has become unbearable, as burning has become a daily practice near dumpsters and in alleyways. Thick smoke fills the air at night and the odors choke homes, worsening residents’ distress.
He adds that families with children or elderly members who suffer from respiratory illnesses are increasingly worried, as the waves of smoke have a direct impact on vulnerable individuals.
The city’s mayor, Ali al-Radwan, affirms to +963 that the accumulation of waste is no longer just a service issue, but a daily burden that exhausts residents and threatens their health.
He adds: “The scene has become familiar in markets and densely populated neighborhoods, where regular waste disposal operations have disappeared, leading to the spread of insects and rodents and the release of foul odors.”
Al-Radwan points out that residents have resorted to burning waste as a temporary solution, but this practice has created an even larger problem, as it produces dense smoke that seeps into homes and shops, causing cases of suffocation and persistent coughing, especially among children and the elderly. He adds that the local council is unable to manage the increasing amounts of waste due to a shortage of machinery and weak logistical capability, pushing some people to adopt primitive and dangerous solutions.
According to al-Radwan, the crisis requires urgent intervention from the concerned authorities to provide necessary support, secure waste collection and disposal equipment, and develop sustainable solutions that protect the health of residents and the environment. He emphasizes that the problem has surpassed the boundaries of services to become a real threat to citizens’ lives and the environmental stability of the city.
Local sources tell +963 that the division between the local council and other service entities has worsened the crisis, with each party blaming the other while waste continues to accumulate without effective solutions.
On the public health front, hospitals have become unable to accommodate the sharp rise in patients suffering from respiratory and dermatological symptoms, making the crisis a complex problem that extends far beyond service issues to a genuine threat to public health.
Dr. Samer al-Khateeb, a pulmonology specialist in Rif Dimashq governorate, warns of the dangers of burning waste in residential neighborhoods. He explains that plastics and heavy metals release toxic and carcinogenic compounds when burned, affecting the lungs, nervous system, and immune system.
He tells +963 that inhaling smoke aggravates asthma and bronchitis and increases the risk of heart and vascular diseases, particularly among children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Fine particles settle on crops, soil, and water sources, causing long term food contamination.
Al-Khateeb points out that recent studies have shown that repeated exposure to these pollutants doubles the risk of respiratory cancers and weakens lung function over time. He warns that continued burning in a confined environment such as Muadamiyat al Sham signals an impending health catastrophe if immediate measures are not taken.
He stresses that the solution is not to coexist with the phenomenon or to mitigate its effects, but to completely end the burning and establish organized alternatives for waste collection and disposal, in addition to broad awareness campaigns explaining the dangers of igniting garbage near homes. Every small fire can leave a long lasting impact on the health of an entire generation.
The crisis does not stop at health and the environment, but extends to social and economic dimensions. Rising burdens on families due to the spread of illnesses and the increasing need for medical care intensify poverty and living pressure, creating a sense of frustration regarding the ability of official bodies to manage essential services.
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Suad Jaber adds: “Even clothes and bedding become saturated with smoke, making life almost impossible, especially when no one takes action to find a lasting solution. We are not asking for miracles, we just want to protect our children and our families and for the authorities to move to end this phenomenon before it destroys everyone’s health.”
Jaber affirms that the crisis is not merely a daily inconvenience but also affects health and the economy. Frequent doctor visits and medical expenses add to household burdens, while official bodies provide no support or sustainable solutions, deepening the sense of neglect and frustration among women who bear full responsibility for their families.
Human rights activist Hossam Akkash, stresses that the waste crisis can no longer tolerate delay and that stopgap solutions are no longer effective after the problem has become a clear threat to people’s health and environment.
He explains to +963 that the first and most urgent step is to immediately stop random burning through strict field monitoring and preventing the ignition of waste in residential areas, combined with awareness campaigns, instant fines for violators, and establishing temporary collection stations away from residential areas equipped with sealed containers, with daily or near daily waste transport according to population density, particularly with the presence of large numbers of internally displaced people.
Akkash warns that continuing the crisis without urgent measures exposes residents to ongoing health and environmental danger while increasing public frustration with responsible authorities. He emphasizes that effective solutions require integrating local administration with state support to ensure regular waste collection and reduce random burning, which has become a daily threat to residents’ lives and environmental health.
In a related context, al-Radwan adds that simple solutions are not enough: “The local council needs short and long term plans, starting with regular waste removal, providing modern equipment, and designating safe waste disposal areas far from residential zones.”
According to residents and experts, the problem is no longer merely a waste issue but an environmental, health, social, and economic catastrophe. Schools experience interruptions at times due to smoke, shops are forced to close their fronts to avoid contaminating merchandise, and street movement is noticeably affected, all of which multiply the daily suffering of residents.
The situation raises questions about the effectiveness of local oversight and the ability of official bodies to confront this years long crisis amid growing population density and the rise in internally displaced persons. The need for urgent and sustainable solutions can no longer tolerate further delay.
In conclusion, Hossam Akkash stresses that “the crisis requires clear strategies, including awareness, organized waste management, and enforcing penalties against violators, because continued random burning threatens the lives of thousands of residents daily and leaves long term effects on the environment and public health”.
The waste crisis in Syria has intensified over the past years at an unprecedented scale. According to studies, only twelve percent of waste is processed in sorting and recycling centers, while the remaining quantities are burned randomly due to weak collection and transport services. This reality has raised air pollution levels, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exceeding safe limits by five times and the release of toxic gases such as dioxin and formaldehyde, causing a clear increase in respiratory and skin diseases and the spread of epidemics such as leishmaniasis and typhoid. Reports from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization indicate a forty percent rise in respiratory illnesses and twenty five percent in dermatological cases in areas affected by burning.
Meanwhile, data from environmental and humanitarian organizations, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), show that nearly a quarter of the population has resorted to burning waste due to the destruction of more than sixty percent of waste management infrastructure and the lack of municipal support. Field studies indicate that seventy two percent of Syrians breathe air contaminated at dangerous levels, threatening a long term rise in heart disease and cancer.
