CAIRO: It costs Cairo governorate approximately LE 300 million annually to collect garbage off the streets, said Cairo Governor Abdel Azim Wazir, who suggested that the police be involved in putting a stop to the growing phenomenon of people throwing their garbage in public areas. Furthermore, the governorate plans to introduce a fining system on anyone caught in the act of dumping garbage in the street. The governor also proposed arresting motorists who throw trash on the road. In addition, there will be a mandatory insurance fee of LE 25 per square meter for every demolition permit, to be refunded once documents are provided proving that the concrete waste has been collected and disposed of. Meanwhile, the governorate will increase the number of garbage collection units in every district to make them more accessible to everyone. Cairo residents, however, still believe the governorate can do a much better job of keeping the streets clean. “There needs to be a fast garbage collection system; they can't just come randomly to pick up the garbage. There needs to be fixed times, for example, between 9 and 11am and 9 and 11 pm, so people would take out their garbage at these hours instead of at random times when porters simply throw it out on the street,” said Mona Mounir, a 42-year-old housewife living in Nasr City. She added that it's about time that a proper recycling system is introduced in Egypt. “We are in the 21st century and this is the capital city of Egypt, but there is still no recycling system; it's ridiculous,” said Mounir. “Imagine how much paper, glass, plastic and other raw materials will be saved if we recycle. It will generate much more than LE 300 million [they spend on collecting], plus there wouldn't be that much waste left,” she said.
