“Waste is a human concept. There's no such thing as waste in nature,” commented Kai Boeckmann, chargé d'affaires at the German embassy in Cairo, opening a panel discussion at the Cairo Climate Talks on managing Egypt's waste. “If waste products are created by nature, they quickly become raw products used by other processes, so nature is very good at recycling. Humanity unfortunately isn't, and as the Earth isn't getting any bigger we can't continue producing waste at this speed forever,” he said. Egypt generates more than 20 million tons of municipal solid waste on an annual basis, or the equivalent of the largest Giza Pyramid every 40 days. Less than 65 per cent of this waste is collected by the public or private sector, and a mere 20 per cent of it is recycled or responsibly dealt with. “There used to be a myth among politicians that garbage-collection services did not have to be paid for, as there were people who were willing to do it almost without cost,” said Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Laila Iskander at the meeting. “In fact there was a myth in the government that we needed to sell garbage to collectors. Another myth was that anyone in that field was almost expected to be exposed to occupational hazards.” Ezzat Naim, Director of the Manshiet Nasser-based NGO Spirit of Youth, highlighted programmes that the group was setting up with small companies to collect the area's waste, then helping them sign contracts with the Giza Governorate to do so. Programmes in the Giza districts of Dokki, Agouza and Imbaba were also educating residents and providing them with bags to dispose of organic and inorganic waste separately in order to facilitate recycling and create a more sanitary system, he said. Commenting on the Spirit of Youth initiative, Chemonics Egypt Chairman Ahmed Gaber said that governorate-specific solutions were necessary, as was a “complete cultural shift” in the way the public thought about trash. While the most sophisticated systems might be too costly or inappropriate for Egypt at the moment, he said, there was a huge range of processes available to extract value from waste, including shredding and reselling recyclables to creating synthetic fibres to make clothes as was done in Asia. These processes could create new industries, income and jobs from waste, he said. Naim said that the collection and recycling industry was responsible for employing nearly one million people and created an additional two to three million related jobs. It could have a positive impact on the national economy if it were formalised, he said. “If people preserving the planet are an important part of this, why are we doing everything we can to keep them from getting to the materials? Why are they not entitled to invest in their own country,” asked Iskander. “Why are we not giving them land and infrastructure? Why is it easy to build a compound in the desert, but not easy for the poor to get land? We are not allowing these people to do something good for themselves and the country,” she said. Wrapping up the meeting, Guenther Wehenpohl, Coordinator of the Participatory Development Programme at GIZ Egypt, said that “the contribution of solid waste to climate change is estimated at 2.8 per cent. Integrated solid waste management,” such as was being explored at the Cairo meeting, “can create a carbon positive balance.” Laws should be passed that included strong and enforceable penalties to force people to reduce waste and promote good disposal behaviour, he said, these complementing efforts to persuade people to do more to protect the environment.
