15 Egyptian cities take steps to limit plastic pollution

CAIRO – 6 February 2020: As World Tourism Organization of the United Nations has launched campaigns to raise awareness against environmental pollution; Egypt has started in 2019 to limit the use of plastic.

Many animals die after swallowing plastic bags. Plastic bags are also often burned, releasing toxic fumes into the atmosphere. A United Nations report says 300 million tons of plastic waste is generated annually, most of it ends in either environment or a landfill.

In June 2019, six cities in the Red Sea governorate, in southeast Egypt, started to apply measures to limit the use of plastic, namely Hurghada, Safaga, Marsa Alam, Qoseir, Ras Ghareb and Shalateen.

Also, authorities in South Sinai governorate, located in the east of the country, started in November last year to apply an initiative to avoid the use of single-use plastic bags in shops and hotels, and to replace them with paper and biodegradable bags.

The nine cities that started to limit the use of plastic in South Sinai are Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab, Saint Catherine, Taba, Nuweibaa, El Tor, Ras Sedr, Abou Redis and Abu Zenima.

In Cairo, central Zamalek district is set to be the first district in the capital to adopt an initiative to limit the use of the single-use plastic bags, the environment minister said, in an effort to support international efforts to avoid the harm of plastic to the environment.

During the activities of a national initiative to stop the use of these bags in the upscale district on Tuesday, Minister Yasmin Fouad urged the civil society and non-governmental organizations to raise awareness among residents concerning environment issues.

In January this year, Youth loves Egypt Foundation, a non-profit organization, organized a major campaign to remove wastes from the banks of the Nile River. In November last year, the foundation said it could remove a total of 1.5 tons of waste.