Young Gazan produces diesel, gasoline from plastic waste

Amid a hike in fuel prices plaguing the Gaza Strip, Anas al-Kafarneh, 33, who hails from the city of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, managed, along with his brothers, to produce diesel and gasoline by burning plastic waste using primitive equipment and devices.

Plastic waste is a strategic material in Gaza, as it is used in many important industries. Youngsters and children are seen searching among piles of waste at waste collection stations across the besieged enclave for plastic pieces in order to sell them to presses that would clean, shred and then sell them to factories for use in different industries.

The Gaza Strip produces more than 700 tons of solid waste per day. While the municipal staff usually transfers this waste to the waste collection stations spread along the eastern border of the Gaza Strip, a large proportion of this plastic waste is collected by low income workers to be recycled by specialized companies and factories.

The Israeli blockade that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than 15 years now has forced citizens to look for ways and alternatives to commodities whose flow into Gaza has been banned by the Israeli side. Chief among these is fuel, whose quantities and prices have been controlled by Israel.