CAIRO - The capital is groaning under piles of garbage and debris, producing an image in complete contrast with the earlier picture of the large army of young people cleaning Tahrir Square in February after the revolution. In main streets, under flyovers, in the vicinity of schools, hospitals and other major institutions, bags of household refuse and trash block the way of pedestrians and motorists and are an inescapable eyesore. Indeed garbage was a problem before the revolution but while there was then a viable solution in sight, today it has returned even more aggressively. This time, not only household refuse but also sacks of debris are being brought down into the street by tenants carrying out maintenance work in their flats. The substantial and rapidly advancing random building movement after the revolution is compounding the situation. Previously such debris was carried to large dumps to avoid penalties imposed by municipality supervisors. In the absence of police and local supervision everybody seems to be doing whatever they like and the people are blameworthy for choosing to do things the easy way regardless of hygiene, the environment or personal responsibility. It seems that individual cleaning initiatives, undertaken in the wake of the revolution to rid streets of garbage, have abated. It takes more than momentary enthusiasm to save the face of Egyptian streets. We have to admit that young people are not brought up in a culture of keeping the streets clean. As much as officials in charge have to be more conscientious in dealing with the rubbish problems, citizens, in turn, have to do their part by not littering the streets.
