STORY: Young Gazan aspires to make small tire recycling business into bigger environmental initiative
DATELINE: Aug. 1, 2023
LENGTH: 00:03:41
LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine
CATEGORY: SOCIETY
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of Midian Helles inside his workshop in Gaza
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MIDIAN HELLES, Gaza-based man
3. various of Midian Helles inside his workshop in Gaza
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MIDIAN HELLES, Gaza-based man
5. various of Midian Helles inside his workshop in Gaza
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): MIDIAN HELLES, Gaza-based man
7. various of Midian Helles inside his workshop in Gaza
 
STORYLINE:
 
Inside his small workshop in the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip, Midian Helles spends hours every day recycling broken car tires and turning them into eco-friendly tools.
 
"I have succeeded in recycling thousands of broken car tires into artificial grass for playgrounds, making use of wasted tires for organic farming, and utilizing those tires' metal components to produce various electrical tools," said the 27-year-old Palestinian.
 
Helles came up with the idea of recycling car tires two years ago when he saw some Palestinian youths burning car tires at the eastern fence of the coastal enclave in protest against the Israeli troops' presence.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): MIDIAN HELLES, Gaza-based man
"Broken car tires are disposed of in three ways: some of which are thrown into the environment, some are buried, and some are burned, and in all cases, they negatively affect the environment. My project is aimed at safely and properly disposing of tires and recycling them into environmentally friendly products needed by the Palestinian market."
 
"I was shocked by the large number of damaged tires that were set on fire during protests. I wondered where did they get those tires," Helles said, as he put a car tire onto a milling machine.
 
Helles, who completed his geology degree at a university in Gaza in 2016, then made the decision to search for the origin of the tires and ways to dispose of them safely.
 
After months of in-depth research, Helles found that only 10 percent of broken car tires could be recycled into park seats and children's toys, while 90 percent are usually burned or buried.
 
Having realized that both the burning and burial of wasted car tires pollute the environment, the young man made the decision to launch a tire recycling business that would tackle his unemployment, support his nine-member family, and fulfill his ambition to protect the environment.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MIDIAN HELLES, Gaza-based man
"One of the most important difficulties I face is the scarcity of raw materials for manufacturing, in addition to the power outages. I tried a lot to get the machines needed for the manufacturing process, but Israel prevents them from entering the Strip because of their dual use, as Israel claims."
 
Lacking the necessary equipment, he went to a local factory to have a milling machine manufactured three months ago, launching his startup that has been running until the present day.
 
Abdul Fattah Abed Rabu, an environmental expert based in Gaza, praised Helles' decision to launch the tire recycling business as "a beautiful and civilized thing," because of his ambition to address the environmental pollution in the Gaza Strip by making full use of the large number of wasted car tires.
 
"Youth initiatives, including those contributing to fighting environmental pollution, have become an urgent necessity in the Gaza Strip, which is facing a fragile and weak environment and overpopulation," he said.
 
Helles hopes to expand his small business into a bigger project that will not only help recycle broken car tires in the coastal enclave, which is home to about 2.3 million people, but also in other Palestinian territories.
 
SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): MIDIAN HELLES, Gaza-based man
"I aspire to develop my small project into a large one in order to fully serve the community and produce environmentally friendly products."
 
He said he hoped that his concept would serve as the foundation of a significant national initiative aimed at promoting zero waste by recycling used things.
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza, Palestine.
(XHTV)