No burning anymore: Rice Straw collected for recycling

CAIRO – 8 September 2019: In a way to reduce Egypt’s main cause of air pollution, the Egyptian Ministry of Environment is collecting rice straws nationwide for animal fodder and furniture manufacturing.

A total of 1,900 tons of rice straws were collected from farmers in 156 sites this year to be used as artificial organic fertilizer and as animal fodder for livestock, according to the ministry of Environment. Rice straws could also be used for the industry of paper, bricks, and furniture and for production of biogas.


A site of rice straw collection in Egypt’s Delta- press photo

In cooperation the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Local Development and other concerned parties, environmental personnel made inspection visits to 60 rice straw collection sites. The ministry’s compaign targets governortaes of Sharkia, Gharbia, Dakahlia, Qalyobia , Beheira and Kafr El Sheikh.

In Dakahlia governorate, representatives of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency at the Ministry (EEAA) made field visits to eight sites on August 12, 2019. During inspection tours, some irregularities were monitored and five complaints were filed against farmers who violated instruction of not burning rice straws. In 2015, the ministry imposed a fine ranged between LE5,000 and LE100,000 against the violators.


A site of rice straw collection in Egypt’s Delta- press photo

Egypt is known with what is called ‘the Black Cloud,” a thick layer of smog from burning rice straw that spreads across Cairo for an extended period of time.

One ton of rice straw was fixed at a cost of LE50 by the ministry of environment. However, head of Farmers Syndicate Hussein Abou Sadam told Youm7 in July 2018 that the price should increase to LE200 per ton, asking the ministry to increase the number of baling machines of the rice straws.

Rice straw is being exported internally and it is hard to be exported outside due to the expected high cost of price, an importer told Egypt Today on Saturday.