Part of learning about how to make Jerusalem a clean city is also learning about what works. One of the goals set out in the Little Prince’s one-year anniversary celebration last July was to learn from other successes. And Rishon Lezion is ranked the cleanest city in Israel according to national indicators.
Jerusalem residents and city officials learning from Rishon Lezion
So we went to Rishon Lezion to learn what they do well.
We went with a group of Municipality officials – both elected and professional – including David Zohar, a city council representative from the Haredi Degel Hatorah party.
We discussed the actions that the Rishon Lezion municipality takes in order to keep its streets clean – the amount of resources it dedicates to the field, the number of sanitation works, the number of overseers, the level of enforcement, (They give out 4,600 tickets each year, just to people who don’t clean up after their dogs!) – all of which are significant, and significantly higher per capita than many cities in Israel, including in Jerusalem. There is a great deal of planning and strategic thinking, both within municipal departments and in cross-department cooperation. Residents are also considered full partners in the effort to keep Rishon Lezion clean. As a result of hard work and careful planning and cooperative work, the Director of Rishon Lezion’s Environment Division has been able to instill a sense of pride among sanitation workers, which is rare for that municipal branch. There is even a mechanism for measurement and reward for outstanding workers.
It was fascinating and inspiring. Next step – Jerusalem!
Here’s what the Playback Theater had to say (at the Trash Party we had recently) about the comparison between Jerusalem and Rishon Lezion (Hebrew):
Many thanks to the Rayne Foundation for their support of the Little Prince. And to the Jerusalem Foundation for its support of activism throughout Jerusalem.
