Mohammad al-Ashqar is fed up with the smell of animal manure emanating from his neighbor’s house and has started looking for a new home in Idlib after exhausting all attempts to convince his neighbor not to collect animal manure near their home, to no avail.

Al-Ashqar told Enab Baladi that the smells had exhausted his family throughout the summer. He repeatedly explained the situation to his neighbor, describing the difficulty of living in his house due to the smells emanating from the neighbor’s house. However, the neighbor did not respond due to the lack of an alternative location, a problem widespread in several residential neighborhoods in Idlib.

Using and drying animal manure is not new, but it was previously limited to rural areas of villages, towns, and farms due to the availability of wide spaces. Today, piles of animal manure can be seen inside the city, especially with the increase in its use as a means of heating, which makes its smell and harm unavoidable.

Smells and diseases

Al-Ashqar, a media activist, added that the doors and windows of his house are always closed to reduce the smell as much as possible, aggravating the summer heat. He stopped receiving guests due to the smell, which intensifies with the wind.

He considers living in the area “impossible.” He lives on the outskirts of Idlib city, with a neighbor who raises sheep residing on the eastern side of his house. The neighbor places the animal manure in a sunny spot in front of his house to dry it for use as heating in winter.

The activist explained that the problem is not just about the smell. The spread of animal manure has caused many respiratory diseases for his family and has helped insects multiply and spread widely in the area, making them hard to combat. This has increased the risk of diseases transmitted by insects, especially skin diseases.

He mentioned that the harm also affects the area’s residents, who have filed many complaints with the public relations department in the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) but have only received promises to find alternatives without solving the problem.

Al-Ashqar’s and his neighbors’ situation is similar to that of dozens of families in Idlib. The rising fuel prices have forced residents to look for alternatives for winter heating, including animal manure.

Families collect animal manure and place it in sunny spots throughout the summer to dry it completely, then collect it into pieces to use later for heating. This process becomes harmful in residential areas.

No heating alternatives

The process of collecting animal manure has led to a widespread increase in insects and escalated respiratory and skin diseases among residents and later users.

Mohammad Korini, the director of the landfill department at E-Clean (The Clean Environment) company operating in Idlib and western rural Aleppo, told Enab Baladi that the phenomenon of using animal manure for heating has expanded due to poverty, scarce resources, and the inability to use fuel for heating. He pointed out that this phenomenon cannot be prevented without providing an alternative.

He mentioned that the company monitors the accumulations and scattered garbage in the areas daily through the routine work of cleaners deployed in most areas but does not intervene in the process of removing animal manure collections.

He noted that if there is unexpected or new garbage, people can contact the company and report it by phone or visit the company to have the garbage removed.

The price of a liter of first-grade diesel in Idlib is about 36 Turkish liras (the dollar equals 35 Turkish liras), and the second-grade (improved) is 22 Turkish liras.

Meanwhile, a worker’s daily wage does not exceed 100 Turkish liras at best, barely enough to secure a meal for his family.

Animal manure is dried under the sun for a period until it loses most of its moisture content. Then, it is mixed with chaff (straw remnants after harvesting wheat and barley) and cut into discs or compressed lumps for storage and later burning.

Serious health effects

Serious health effects can result from the accumulation of animal manure near residential areas, as these accumulations create a fertile environment for insects.

Dr. Abdul Halim Murad, the director of communicable diseases division in the Primary Health Care Department at the Ministry of Health in the Salvation Government, told Enab Baladi that collecting animal manure near residential buildings affects human health, leading to severe health impacts such as skin inflammation, exposure to tetanus bacteria, and parasites associated with animal waste.

Dr. Murad explained that if these wastes accumulate, the health risks cannot be contained. Drinking water and surface water used for irrigation could become contaminated, increasing cases of salmonella and hepatitis.

The doctor considered that the phenomenon has serious environmental impacts, including air pollution with unpleasant odors, attracting large numbers of rodents and insects, disfiguring the residential area’s appearance, and more.

Murad mentioned that experts advise breeding animals in specific, studied areas away from residential places and collecting animal manure in designated areas far from residences.

He added that the place for collecting animal manure should be away from surface water sources and that the manure should be used periodically for fertilizing agricultural lands.

According to the doctor, there are no exact statistics on the spread of skin diseases, but there are epidemiological indications. Given the living conditions and population density, skin infections appear to be widespread. This issue requires the community’s concerted efforts to raise individual health awareness and enhance public health.

The state of extreme poverty and need has driven the region’s residents to dangerous heating alternatives that threaten health and the environment, including burning plastic, shoes, coal, and animal manure.