Will the New medical Waste Plant Solve Egypt’s Chronic Garbage Management Ordeal?

By Dina Hashish On Feb 17, 2019

Egypt’s waste is one of the most chronic issues the country is dealing with. Piles of trash can be seen in every corner, even in high-end districts. For decades since the early 50s, the garbage was collected by residents of The Zabaleen district.

Later in 2003, the government hired foreign companies to take care of the waste, yet the problem remained as chronic and disturbing as before. An extra fee was added to the electricity bill to ensure garbage collection, which enraged the public. Afterwards, the court granted the government the right to add fees for the service.

According to Al-Ahram Weekly, some of the Zabaleen residents have confessed that they have bribed district councils so garbage trucks would not take all the garbage and leave some for them. The problem was not solved as the companies didn’t have enough dumpsters, and the Zabaleen residents usually don’t come through.

According to a report published in Science magazine, eEgypt occupies the 7^th position in the list of countries with the most mismanaged plastic waste; the report was based on data collected in 2010. According to the Annual Report of Waste Management statistics in Egypt, issued in 2013, Egypt has generated a total of 89.03 million tons of Solid waste, the majority of which were municipal solid waste calculated at 21 million tons.

Qalyubia governorate announced establishing a waste recycling plant covering three stages; collecting garbage, recycling it, and generating alternative energy. Qalyubia Governor, Alaa Abdel Halim, stated that the plant will absorb 4,000 tons of solid and organic waste daily. In addition to establishing a line for alternative fuel production from waste that can produce energy.

In 2018, an application, Dawar, was created by Environ-Adapt in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Environment and GIZ Egypt. The app allows you to take a photo and send it along with your location and apparently, the company will take care of it and send you back a photo of the cleaned area.

WE SAID THIS: Further readings:You Can Now Sell Your Garbage And Save The Environment In Egypt