Syrians Turn Plastic Waste Into Rugs to Make A Living

The mats have become a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings
Aaref WATAD - AFP
The mats have become a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings Aaref WATAD - AFP
TT

Syrians Turn Plastic Waste Into Rugs to Make A Living

The mats have become a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings
Aaref WATAD - AFP
The mats have become a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings Aaref WATAD - AFP

At a rubbish dump in northwest Syria, Mohammed Behlal rummages for plastic to be sold to recyclers and transformed into floor rugs and other items.

In opposition-held Syria, recycling is rarely an environmental impulse but rather a grim lifeline for needy residents looking for work or items they otherwise could not afford.

Braving the stench, insects and risk of disease, 39-year-old Behlal hacks through the rubbish pile with a scythe and his bare hands.

He and two of his six children earn a living sifting through the refuse in Idlib province's village of Hezreh, earning $7 to $10 a week each.

"It's tiring... but what can we do, we have to put up with this hard labour," AFP quoted Behlal, who was displaced from neighboring Aleppo province during Syria's civil war.

"Thank God, at least we have work with the trash," he added.

Behlal was shot in the leg during fighting and has had trouble finding employment.

Hunched over to collect pieces of plastic or metal, he throws everything into a bag to sell to a nearby scrap facility.

Syria's conflict has killed more than 500,000 people, and around half of the country's pre-war population has been forced from their homes since fighting broke out in 2011.

More than four million people, most of them dependent on aid, live in areas controlled by militants and Turkish-backed groups in Syria's north and northwest.

In a large scrapyard next to agricultural fields, workers sort plastic junk loosely into piles according to color.

They then cut it up and crush it into small pieces that are washed and melted into plastic pellets.

Farhan Sleiman, 29, is among those who handle the material brought in from the landfill.

"We buy plastic from roaming trash-picker trucks and children," said Sleiman, originally from Homs province.

He expressed fear of the risk of contracting "cholera or chronic illnesses" from working with the rubbish.

Elsewhere in northern Idlib province, workers at a factory making mats and rugs churn out brightly colored plastic thread while large weaving machines click and clack.

Factory owner Khaled Rashu, 34, says rug-making is a family tradition.

"We have more than 30 employees" at the factory, he boasted as a significant feat in a region where many are jobless.

Large mats featuring geometric designs, some made with striking red or purple plastic thread, emerge from the weaving machines and are stacked into piles.

Shop owner Mohammed al-Qassem, 30, is among those selling the mats, which he says are a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings.

The mats made from recycled plastic cost between $5 and $15, while traditional Persian-style rugs are around $100.

"In summer, demand for plastic mats increases" because they retain less heat, Qassem said from his shop in Maaret Masrin, a town in Idlib province.

But "they can also be used in winter and are less costly", he added.



Oregon House Cat Died after Eating Pet Food that Tested Positive for Bird Flu

Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
TT

Oregon House Cat Died after Eating Pet Food that Tested Positive for Bird Flu

Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

An Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu, Oregon authorities said, prompting a recall of raw frozen pet food that was sold nationwide.

Northwest Naturals, a pet food company based in Portland, Oregon, said Tuesday it had voluntarily recalled one batch of its two-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it tested positive for the virus. The product was sold through distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well as Canada's British Columbia.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said in a Tuesday news release. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”

The recalled product is packaged in two-pound plastic bags with “best if used by” dates of May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. The company and Oregon authorities said that consumers who bought the recalled product should throw it away immediately and contact the place of purchase for a refund, The AP reported.

No human cases of bird flu have been linked to the incident, but those who were in contact with the cat are being monitored for flu symptoms, Oregon authorities said.

More than 60 people in eight states have been infected, with mostly mild illnesses, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. One person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with the nation’s first known severe illness caused by the virus, health officials said last week.

So far, the CDC has confirmed one human case of bird flu in Oregon. The person was linked to a previously reported outbreak at a commercial poultry operation and fully recovered after experiencing mild illness, according to a November news release from the Oregon Health Authority.

In late October, the US Department of Agriculture announced that a pig at a backyard farm in Oregon was found to have bird flu, marking the first detection of the virus in US swine.