Sanitation

Residents of touristic Bodrum town are being cautioned by an expert regarding potential health risks arising from ruptures in the main water transmission lines.

"The ruptures in the transmission and distribution lines bring a risk similar to the situation in drinking water in the earthquake region," said Ceyhun Özçelik, an associate professor from Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.

As part of a project under to coordination of the Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Ministry and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBTAK), the waters of the country will be monitored at 425 separate locations for a period of three years to combat marine pollution.

On Water Day, children from the Bulgarian town of Omurtag will meet with representatives of the authorities, including the Minister of Regional Development, Ivan Shishkov. The problem in the town has been going on for decades. People there have repeatedly come out in protest demanding a solution to the problem.

Pointing to the murky waters of the Tonle Sap, Si Vorn fights back tears as she recalls her four-year-old daughter dying from diarrhea after playing in the polluted lake.

Her family of 12 is among 100,000 people living in floating houses on Cambodia's vast inland waterway, and while their village has 70 houses and a primary school, it has no sanitation system.

Illustration. BIRN/Igor Vujcic

Major players in global shipping, the Laskaridis brothers are known in Greece for their initiatives to clean the seas of rubbish and scrap single-use plastics.

Police have identified a husband and wife, aged 70 and 65, who dumped waste in fields in the area of Diavata in Thessaloniki and charged them with violating environmental protection laws.

The 65-year-old owns a company that specializes in emptying and cleaning cesspools and unblocking blocking hydraulic installations.

In line with the Lake Van Basin Protection Action Plan, efforts have begun to clean up mud from the lake bed, which is causing a pungent smell and making it look not so appealing to the eye.

After the commissioning of the Van Central Wastewater Treatment Plant and the reduction of pollution caused by animal waste, the removal of bottom mud has gained momentum.

According to a 2020 report by the Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, 90 per cent of wastewater in Kosovo is directly or indirectly discharged into rivers without proper filtration. In the three years up to June 2020, 32 million euros were earmarked for sewage filtration, but only 2.2 million euros was actually spent.

"Now wash your hands." Often seen on the walls of public toilets around the world, this phrase highlights how vital handwashing is in preventing the spread of diseases. Yet for millions of people, the signs might as well say, "Now fly to the moon."

A latrine (toilet) believed to have been used by artists has been found in the theater of the ancient city of Smyrna, where excavations have been ongoing for five years in İzmir.