Improving Waste Management in Egypt

In 2012, Egyptian in­dus­tries, agri­cul­ture and house­holds gen­er­ated more than a ton of waste per capita per year. A sub­stan­tial amount of the waste went un­treated into rivers or onto roads or outdoor areas, with only about 60 percent of the waste col­lected, less than 20 percent of which was properly disposed of or recycled. The in­ad­e­quate waste man­age­ment in­fra­struc­ture not only en­dan­gers the en­vi­ron­ment, but also human health.

The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with the European Commission and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economics partnered with the Egyptian Ministry of Environment on a national waste management program for Egypt. The program's aim is to enhance the solid waste management on a national, as well as on a regional and local level, by improving the effec­tive­ness of technical facilities, developing and strengthening the insti­tu­tional capacities, and introducing financial tools for sustainable solid waste management. The German federal government has provided financial support to the program in the form of a joint project between the public development financing organ­i­sa­tion KfW and the GIZ Society for Inter­na­tional Cooperation.

CDM Smith is leading a consortium that supports the national authority, Waste Management Regulatory Authority,  as well as local solid waste management units in Assiut and Qena, towards developing an econom­i­cally viable and sustainable waste management system matched to local require­ments. Specif­i­cally, we are updating existing master plans and developing new ones while giving insti­tu­tional training to local waste management authorities. We are promoting cooperation between the different involved stake­hold­ers, advising the authorities on introducing new economic instruments, and developing concepts to collect and transport waste more efficiently.

Apart from that, we are also planning appropriate investments in waste management together with those locally responsible and providing support in imple­men­ta­tion. The plan includes remediating existing landfills and creating new ones and identifying new facilities for waste handling, sorting, mechanical-biological treatment and composting. CDM Smith is supervising construc­tion in close cooperation with national and local authorities, ensuring that the local private and public operators are well prepared for the future beyond project completion.