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When the stations are completed, Southeast Anatolia region where UNDP operates through these projects will be Turkey's first region that solves the solid waste transfer problem. UNDP's EU funded project includes the construction of 4 solid waste transfer stations in Reyhanlı, Kırıkhan, Yayladağı and Samandağ districts. Of these projects, the one in Reyhanlı was completed, those in Kırıkhan and Yayladağı are under construction, the station in Samandağ district will be mobile. When all the projects are completed, the institutional infrastructure of solid waste transfer processes in Hatay province will be completed at a rate close to 90 percent with the support provided by UNDP.
The number of Turkish citizens who will benefit from the investments is 384,532 and this number for Syrians will increase to 486,433 persons. The project including three solid waste transfer vehicles and one backhoe loader to be granted to each station, both provides significant improvements in environmental clean-up and public health and removes the burden of 8.5 million TRY in total from the budget of Hatay Metropolitan Municipality; annual savings of 3 million TRY, provided by the vehicles granted to the institution represents the “Cherry on the cake”, according to one journalist.
Another important facility we visited on waste management, is the wastewater treatment plant in Hassa. The facility is planned to be completed in October; 4,000 cubic meters of water will be treated daily. This is an important step to prevent pollution in Asi River, where Hassa's sewerage is discharged currently. Maybe it is not possible to entirely clean Asi River, which is rising in Lebanon and flowing into the sea in Turkey after running through Syria, but through the plant, which will meet the need of wastewater treatment and waste management of approximately 60,000 people in Hassa region, it is aimed to reduce a number of important health and environmental risks, including groundwater pollution.
Once the project is completed, a total of 31,567 people, 24,954 of which are local and 6,613 of which are Syrians, will directly benefit from the wastewater plant. The implementation of the project of 3,279,000 USD with financial support from EU will enable municipalities' own funds to be re-directed to other investment projects.