Youth Love Egypt campaign removes plastic wastes from Nile on WED

CAIRO – 6 June 2018: On World Environment Day, the Youth Love Egypt Foundation, organized a major campaign to remove plastic wastes from the Nile River; these plastic wastes are especially harmful to marine animals.

In partnership with the United Nations and Cairo Sea Scout team, the foundation managed to remove large quantities of plastic wastes to get rid of them far away from the Nile.

"The campaign does not only aim to clean the Nile; it will also extend to clean and remove plastic wastes from the shores of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean sea in a number of governorates such as Alexandria, Ismailia and South Sinai," Head of Youth Love Egypt Foundation, Ahmed Fathy, told Egypt Today.


Young members of YLE removing plastic wastes from Nile River- Egypt Today

"These plastic wastes are collected and transported to recycling plants," Fathy said.

Cairo Sea Scout signed a protocol of cooperation with Youth Love Egypt Foundation to clean and remove wastes which threaten the lives of marine animals and distort the image of the Nile.

United Nations Environmental Program selected the Youth Love Egypt Foundation as an official representative in the celebrations of the World Environment Day, which came under the theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution”.

Nations celebrate the World Environment Day on June 5 every year. The theme of this year’s WED is “Beat Plastic Pollution”, which is one of the biggest environmental challenges. According to statistics of the WED, 13 million tons of plastic leak into the oceans, and threaten marine life.

Ministry of Environment participated on Tuesday in the 2018 World Environment Day under the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”, which focuses on how plastic, one of the most dangerous pollutants, affects our ecosystems and environment.


Young members of YLE removing plastic wastes from Nile River- Egypt Today

Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy said the ministry launched in 2017 a new national initiative to reduce the consumption of plastic bags, and use biodegradable bags as well as long term bags.

Fahmy said during the celebrations of the World Environment Day that bags made of recycled fabric are a better alternative for plastic, adding that plastic bags will no longer be available for free.

In the same context, Mohamed Shehab, CEO of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), said that the national EU-funded initiative to reduce the consumption of plastic bags has been launched on June 5, 2017, during which around 4.5 million tons of biodegradable plastic bags were distributed in 18 months.

He further explained that Egypt is committed to the 2030 strategic development plan for sustainable development to stop the use of plastic bags, remarking that several Arab and African countries have already done so.

He said that Egypt consumes 12 billion tons of single-use plastic bags annually, at a cost of LE 2 billion, adding that the agency tends to reduce the use of plastic bags through encouraging producers to manufacture disposable and paper bags.

In line with the global move to reduce the consumption of plastic bags, Fahmy extended the activities of his ministry’s new national initiative called “Enough Plastic Bags”.

Fahmy participated on May 4 in the initiative by distributing 4,500 non-woven bags as alternatives to traditional non-recycled plastic bags. About 4,500 eco-friendly biodegradable plastic bags, which decompose through living organisms, have been circulated since the launch of the initiative.


Young members of YLE removing plastic wastes from Nile River- Egypt Today

Many animals die after swallowing these plastic bags. Plastic bags are also often burned, releasing toxic fumes into the atmosphere.

As part of the initiative, the Ministry of Environment has launched a public advertisement campaign to raise awareness on the hazard of plastic bags.

Many other African counties have launched initiatives to put an end to the plastic bag hazard. In 2008, Rwanda became one of the first African countries to impose a complete ban on thin plastic bags as part of its Vision 2020 plan for sustainability. Currently, all plastic bags used in Rwanda are biodegradable.