Purpose Olive oil industry is a growing industrial sector in Mediterranean countries. Unfortunately, about 30-35% of total olive weight is discarded as olive pomace (OP), a highly environmental-polluting solid waste.OP is mostly used for composting and production of animal feed; nevertheless, the high oil content, phenolic compounds and fiber contents in addition to its low protein content represent major obstacles for both applications. So, the present study was conducted to evaluate the role of solid state fermentation (SSF) in OP using Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-8281 yeast on the chemical composition and tannin content of OP in a trial for its bioconversion into a value-added animal feed. Methods Chemical composition, nutritive and energetic values, tannin and gallic acid contents of unfermented and fermented olive pomace were investigated. Results The fermentation altered the chemical composition of OP, so that crude fiber was decreased by 8.56%, while crude protein, fat and carbohydrate contents were increased by 2.74, 2.63 and 3.57%, respectively. Moreover, the effect of fermentation on cell wall constituents, gross energy, digestible energy, total digestible nutrients and digestible crude protein was evaluated. Furthermore, HPLC analysis revealed that K. marxianus mediated fermentation of OP resulted in a sharp decrease in tannin content by 96.75% with 2.8 times increase in gallic acid concentration. Conclusion SSF of OP by K. marxianus does not only eliminate the environmental pollution resulting from its accumulation, but also presents a new eco-friendly valorization technique which leaves OP with an altered chemical composition allowing its use as animal feed or compost.

Municipal solid waste management became a major challenge due to the population growth, change of lifestyle in Sulaimania city, especially since the urban expansion increased from 2003, and when many villages in the countryside had already became a part of the city. The major part of generating solid waste in Sulaimania disposed in the Tanjaro area (an open dumping area southeast of Sulaimania city) without any treatment or proper landfilling. In this research, the compositions of generating solid waste of Sulaimania city and its properties were determined. Also, in this research, it was found that household waste generation is threatening the environment of Sulaimania city due to the huge amount of the produced leachate of solid waste which flowing into the Tanjaro dumping area and ultimately contaminating groundwater, surface and subsurface soil there. This research covered 12 different subzone areas within 5 major zones across the city a covering nearly 300 house samples. Also collected solid waste samples were categorized into the kitchen, plastic, glass, electronic and some other types of solid wastes. The results showed that the number of houses generating more than 2 kg of solid waste per day is higher than those with less than 1kg generated solid waste. It has also been inferred that the highest composition ratio of household solid waste was kitchen type and reached (63.1%) followed by plastic-type solid waste (10.2%), cardboard (5.4%), cans and other metals (2.8%), Glass waste (2.7%) and E-waste (0.1%), other wastes such as textile, nylon, wood and lethal around (15.7%). Besides that, the results showed that the amount of the waste is seasonally changing, for example, the amount of solid waste from April to October is higher than other months due to increasing human activities for producing solid waste. Furthermore, this study covered a survey of the main medical waste from 25 clinics across Sulaimania city and counted the main waste contributed elements of the medical waste that produced. The variation in the generation rate, varied and excuses for this variation clearly stated. Also, the clinic medical waste generation was also investigated for their constituents and quantity and also the possibility of its segregation and ways to dispose of it. All the clinics private and public ones were investigated and studied for having chimneys and the possibilities of air pollution due to the burning of the medical waste.

Globalization, population change, and rural-to-urban movement are the main causes of the enormous issues faced by rural communities. Every growing nation, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), has a sizable proportion of rural farmers among its populace. This study was done in the Sulaimani Governorate, which was divided into six main districts namely; Garmian, Penjwin, Halabja, Chamchamal, Sharazur, and Raniya, and aimed to compare the groundwater level with summer crop water demand. The weighted Sum Method (WSM) and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index map (NDVI) were used to analyze and illustrate the current water demand status for summer crops. The study employed a participatory research design, utilizing a purposive sampling method to select 60 representative farmers, 25 key decision-makers, representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and experts in the field of water management. Data was collected through the use of focus group discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) to gather information from the selected participants. This study is innovative in its attempt to establish a correlation between the yield of summer crops and the availability of groundwater. As a conclusion for this study, the results suggest that the level of groundwater plays a significant role in determining the production of summer crops. Additionally, the sustainable development of various regions within the Sulaimani Governorate is influenced by a complex interplay of environmental, economic, and social factors. Future work will be focus on doing a detail research regarding time series for ground water level (GWL) vs. crop production vs. NDVI.

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