LE 12B allocated to implement new garbage system: Min.

CAIRO - 29 January 2020: Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Sharawy confirmed that the ministry allocated LE 12 billion to implement a new garbage system.

Sharawy’s remarks came during his speech in the Parliament’s plenary session on Tuesday. He asserted that the ministry eliminated more than 26 landfills in the state.

He noted that the ministry is establishing about 63 waste and recycling lines and that waste has been completely removed from seven locations in the governorates.

A total of 80 million tons of garbage are collected in Egypt each year, with most of them ending up in piles in the streets. The government has taken several steps over the years to contain the growing waste crisis in the country by raising awareness and announcing fines of up to LE 20,000 for littering streets.

In September 2019, the new solid waste management approach as introduced by former Minister of Environment Yasmeen Fouad includes 27 schemes, which seek to dispose of the existing garbage and maintain sustainable recycling of the country’s waste that meet with the sustainable development goals pinned by the United Nations.

Awareness of the risks of the single-use of plastic has seen growth in the country, with dozens of youth participating in clean-up campaigns at beaches and along the banks of the Nile River, and many groups calling for the ban of the hazardous pollutant, which affects the ecosystems and environment.

As of June 2019, the Red Sea governorate became the first to ban the single-use plastic at food shops, restaurants, cruise ships, supermarkets, grocery stores and pharmacies.