Wednesday, July 18, 2007 AMMAN, Jul. 18, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The Ministry of Environment on Tuesday announced plans to establish a treatment plant for medical and hazardous waste in the Zarqa area. The plan was announced during a workshop to discuss the ministry's 2007-2009 strategic plan. Minister of Environment Khalid Irani said the strategy focuses on several significant pillars, including the disposal of medical wastes. 'The ministry's efforts, in cooperation with the health sector is represented mainly by managing medical waste,' Irani told the participants, who included representatives of governmental and nongovernmental organisations. The three-year strategy also seeks to increase the percentage of medical waste that is treated in a environment-friendly way. The strategy's major goals include developing regulations and policies to preserve the environment, reinforcing regulations and inspections on industrial facilities, and upgrading awareness raising programmes, among others. 'The environment sector is not a separate entity from other development sectors, but rather a fundamental member in the economic and social growth process,' Irani said. The minister urged the Ministry of Agriculture to encourage farmers to invest in environment-friendly agricultural practices and to provide them with incentives to use organic fertilisers. Earlier this month, the ministry called on Jordan Valley farmers to stop using untreated fertilisers which attract domestic flies and cause health and environmental problems. In the transport sector, the minister said the strategy mainly focuses on reducing the use of leaded petrol in preparation for a complete shift to unleaded petrol by the beginning of next year. The ministry will also prepare an integrated plan for rehabilitating the Zarqa River basin and help set regulations to protect water sources from pollutants. The ministry has also initiated several projects to address the Zarqa River, which is severely polluted due to wastewater leakage, effluents from factories and sewage systems. Newstex ID: KRTB-0261-18211760 Delivered by Newstex LLC via theFinancials.com