Amid soaring Israeli checkpoints, two young Palestinians have opened a recycling facility in Ramallah to turn plastic trash into reusbale pellets. Ibrahim Ghazal, a mechanical engineer, and Faris Abu Keshek launched Scrapcycle Solutions after the October 7, 2023 Gaza war tightened movement restrictions and left the West Bank’s garbage piles swelling.

925 Checkpoints Cripple Waste Removal,Leaving 750 Tons at Ramallah Transfer Station

As of late 2025, the Israeli military maintains more than 925 checkpoints and barriers, a 43 % rise over the past two decades, according to the source. The surge has stalled garbage trucks, forcing them to wait hours or days before crossing to one of only two landfills, while the main transfer point near Ramallah now holds an estimated 750 tons of waste.

Scrapcycle Solutions’ Six‑Step Process Converts Plastic into Pellets

Located opposite the transfer point, the startup’s modest warehouse houses machines that sort, wash, dry, shred and melt plastic. Ghazal explains that the shredded material is extruded into uniform pellets that can be sold to manufacturers, creating a local supply chain for raw plastic.

Israeli Refusal of a Third Landfill Fuels Push for Large‑Scale Recycling

The Palestinian Authority has sought permission for a third central landfill for years, but Israel has blocked the request, a point Abu Keshek says is meant to keep pressure on Palestinians. while the Israeli military claims to be advancing a construction permt for a new site named “Judea and Samaria,” the entrepreneurs argue that landfills will soon hit capacity and that recycling offers a more sustainable answer.

Who Will Fund the Expansion Needed to Tackle 1,500 Tons of Daily Waste?

The source notes that Scrapcycle’s pilot plant is tiny compared with the region’s waste burden, but it does not disclose any investors or government grants. It remains unclear whether international donors, private venture capital, or the Palestinian Authority will finance the scaling required to process the West Bank’s estimated 1,500 tons of daily garbage.

Open Question: Can Recycling Plants Replicate Jordan’s Model Under Occupation?

Abu Keshek cites a visit to a Jordanian recycling plant as inspiration, yet the article provides no details on how Jordan’s regulatory environment differs from the West Bank’s checkpoint‑laden logistics. Without that comparison, it is uncertain whether the Jordanian model can be duplicated under current movement restrictions.

According to the report, settlers sometimes attack garbage‑truck drivers, adding a security dimension to an already complex supply chain. The Palestinian Authority’s long‑standing request for a third landfill remains denied, and the Israeli military’s permit process is opaque, leaving the future of waste management in the occupied territories uncertain.