'Horse diapers' keep Gaza streets clean

On the crowded streets of Gaza, horse-drawn carts continue to carry goods and agricultural produce, providing a vital service but creating a sanitary problem that one group wants to solve with diaper-style bags to keep the roads clear of manure.

As well as the smell and flies they attract, piles of manure are an unsightly blight, said municipal sanitary worker Saher Khattab, who drives a horse-drawn cart to collect garbage.

The bags, attached to the rump of donkeys and horses that ply the streets, are intended to eliminate the problem at the source, at the same time collecting a source of natural fertilizer that can be used in nearby farm land.

"We are keen to preserve a clean environment, keep our streets clean, and maintain a civilized situation," said Anwar Al-Ghawash, one of a group of activists promoting the initiative in Deir Al-Balah town in the southern Gaza Strip.