Environment & Energy | Thursday 18 June, 2015 3:13 am |

Dammam was ranked first in the Arab Towns Organization (ATO) Award for Environmental Integrity. On this occasion, Saudi Aramco and the General Directorate of Health Affairs in the Eastern Province (EP) were given the ATO certificates by EP Mayor Fahad Al-Jubeir during a ceremony held at the mayoralty's headquarters.

Al-Jubeir said: “This significant award puts a great responsibility on the mayoralty to remain in this position, which requires redoubling our efforts to achieve greater success; we are working to convert all EP cities and villages to be environment friendly, besides holding several environmental programs.”

He said Dammam competed for this award with 59 Arab and Gulf cities, as the adjudicators of the 12th session held at ATO premises in Doha announced the names of the Arab towns and personalities award winners in the presence of the tribunal, members of the preparatory committee, and a delegation of the ATO general secretariat.

The awards covered the environmental health and information technology fields, and the EP Mayoralty participated in the Environmental Integrity Award through the centers and stations for pollution measurement, in addition to food contamination labs, as well as its plans and programs used in monitoring environmental safety in the city, Al-Jubeir stated.
“There is a project for monitoring and evaluating air quality, a program for overall control of public health problems, the reduction of used pesticides, the food labs, in addition to the training center for staff in food and public health facilities, and the application of ISO 22000 program in three restaurants and inspection a campaigns on food.”
During the competition, the municipality reviewed its programs for solid waste, reduction of indiscriminate disposal of waste, projects for landfill sites, recycling agricultural waste, recycling of used tires and construction waste, as well as the program of sorting and recycling of waste.

Al-Jubeir thanked EP Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif and the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs for their unlimited support for the mayoralty in the development of municipal work, stressing that the mayoralty is determined to implement many environment programs and plans, which will have a great positive effect.