Littering here in Jeddah is a huge problem that I have complained about many times before. I am so happy to post this photo of what appears to be new enforcement of littering laws. Although the fine is relatively low (150 Saudi Riyals = about $38 US), I have hopes that this measure will have an impact. My friend Veeds of Arabia and I had a discussion about this problem the other day and he shared his theories with me about the litter problem here in Saudi Arabia. Veeds thinks that Saudis litter in their own country because of “the heritage of living in a vast barren desert” and because of “the culture of too much money and having others going around picking up after them.” He also pointed out that it’s likely that the many poor foreign laborers who come here for work “litter here because they come from such poor countries that trash is a common every day occurrence,” plus the fact that “it’s not their land.” Add all these factors in together and it makes for a formidable trash problem.
About This Blog, and About Me: Susie of Arabia
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is KSA's 2nd largest city and is located on its west coast, right on the Red Sea. I moved here in 2007 with my Saudi hubby and teenage son. This journal reflects the things that I see here, life through my eyes, my lens.
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Yes, but HOW will they get fined? With a traffic photo camera? Great photo, Susie. Please keep us informed on this.
Here in Riyadh, there are big yellow dumpsters on every block, yet people can’t be bothered to use them.
A good question, but I still don’t have any idea how this thing works. If I find out, I’ll let you know. I do know that in the past few months, I have heard of many people getting tickets for traffic infractions, which never seemed to happen before. Also, they are fining people for smoking at the airports now here in KSA and have collected quite a bit of revenue from it already, and it just started in November. So they must have some kind of system for this.
I hope the sign will help reduce littering! And I hate it especially when drivers throw their cigarette butts out their car windows in front of me!
Me too, Leif. And ALL cars have ashtrays. It’s infuriating. I asked someone once why they throw out the cig butts instead of using their own ashtray. He actually told me that he didn’t want the mess and smell in his own car. He wanted to keep his ashtray clean!
My worry is who will enforce it? If I see someone littering, can I call someone? First they need to be educated through ads and tv, imposing fine to start with will not be effective and may take long time to work
You’d be surprised how quickly word will get around if people start getting fined for littering. I still have hope!