On Monday, 27 March 2006, a state-of-the-art incinerator with liquid injection was put into operation on the premises of the company Ecolog in Kabul. An epoch-making event for Afghanistan, it was almost 25 years ago that the last incinerator was put into operation in this country.

A sorted waste disposal, like we know it, is practically unknown there. Most of the time, waste disposal takes place unregulatedly on unsecured dump sites, with the corresponding consequences for the environment and public health.

There has been no way of carrying out a proper hazardous waste disposal until now, as this cannot be done without the appropriate technical prerequisites. This is especially true for plastics, oil residues, and hospital waste. The new incinerator will exclusively be used for the disposal of hazardous waste, as the need in this field is the most urgent one. The regular operation of the plant will be ensured by Ecolog employees, who received extensive training by the manufacturer. The commissioning of the plant is seen as an important contribution to enhancing public health in Afghanistan.
Dr Sayed M. Amin Fatemi, Minister of Public Health, and Mostapha Zaher, General Director of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), appreciated the event by jointly performing the symbolic ceremony, cutting through the traditional tape to release the plant. After that, they attended the first incineration of the plant which was executed by a specially trained Ecolog employee wearing the prescribed protective clothes. Apart from numerous other press representatives, the Afghan television was present with extensive filming equipment to report on the event in detail in the news afterwards.

The new incinerator is a building block for a future Afghan infrastructure and was contributed by a contract partner for military forces. There is no doubt that this plant sets new standards in the field of disposal services for military forces on international deployment. The incinerator was established above all to meet the disposal requirements of military forces in this country. Of course, it is now also open to Afghan users and especially hospitals and medical institutions are thought of here and offered the opportunity to dispose their hazardous waste properly. A second plant in Mazar-e Sharif is already being planned.