MUNICIPAL

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN

EGYPT - Focus on Cairo
Legal and Economic Instruments of Environmental Policy
WS 2011/2012
13.04.2012
Prof. Martin Wickel

Mostafa El Gamal
Matriculation number: 6005342
Master of Science
REAP (Resource efficiency in architecture and planning)

Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Egypt Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Geographical Data and General Conditions........................................................................................ 3
1.2 MSWM - An Overview......................................................................................................................... 4
2. Institutional Frameworks and Key Players Involved in SWM ................................................................... 6
2.1 The Public Sector................................................................................................................................. 6
2.2 The Private Sector ............................................................................................................................... 8
3. Environmental Policies and legalization ................................................................................................. 10
3.1 Laws and Regulations for SWM ........................................................................................................ 10
3.2 Programs and Strategies for SWM .................................................................................................... 11
4. Difficulties and Constraints ..................................................................................................................... 14
4.1 Constraints Due to Policies ............................................................................................................... 14
4.2 Institutional and Financial Constraints ............................................................................................. 15
5. Options for Improvement ....................................................................................................................... 16
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 19
7. Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Figure 1: The Municipal Solid Waste Generation in Egypt ........................................................................... 4

Figure 2: Cairo's Waste Composition ............................................................................................................ 4
Figure 3: Key Players involved in SWM in Egypt ........................................................................................... 6

Introduction
In Egypt, the situation of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) has become a serious problem.
Its negative implications as well as its direct and indirect harmful consequences on environment, public
health and national economy are becoming a serious threat, which has to be dealt with properly. Of
Egypts cities, Cairo has potentially the greatest waste disposal problems. As the city grew, traditional
waste disposal practices continued, but developed informally, resulting in what is probably the most
developed informal private sector of waste collection and reclamation resulting in one of the worlds
most developed informal private sectors of waste collection.
This paper discusses the present situation of the MSWM in Egypt with focus on the household waste of
the city of Cairo, regarding the following issues: MSWM related policies, legal and institutional
frameworks, action plans and strategies, the involvement of the formal and informal private sector, the
participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), finance and cost recovery. It furthermore
focuses on the situation of the traditional garbage collectors (Arabic: Zabbaleen), and highlights some
possibilities for the development and improvement of the MSWM sector.

1. Egypt Overview
1.1 Geographical Data and General Conditions
Egypt is located in north-east Africa and spans a total area of around 1.01 million km2. Important
geographical areas are the Mediterranean coast, the Nile Delta, the Red Sea coast, the canal cities, the
Sinai Peninsula, the Eastern and Western Desert and Upper Egypt. Egypt has a population of 81.8 million
(CAPMAS, 2012) and an average annual growth of 1.7% (United Nations Statistics Division, 2010). The
greatest portion of the population resides along the Delta and the Nile Valley. The urban population
encompasses 43.4% of the total population (United Nations Statistics Division, 2010). Egypts economy
relies heavily on foreign investments, tourism and the services sector. The countrys GDP growth rate is
5% (United Nations Statistics Division, 2010). The growing inflation rate has become a serious threat for
the Egyptian economy, especially after the global economic crisis in 2008. The poverty headcount ratio
at national poverty line is 22% of the entire population (The World Data Bank, 2008).

1.2 MSWM - An Overview

In general, solid waste (SW) can be defined as: a byproduct of human activity. Waste is composed of
the same materials as the useful products; but it differs from the useful products by its lack of value.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a combination of household solid waste and commercial solid waste
(Milik, 2010, p. 37). MSW can be found in several forms. However, there are some essential aspects that
are basic to defining waste. There are many sources of waste such as food or packaging waste. Waste
can be found in both solid and semi-solid states. It can be made of various materials such as glass,
plastic, paper, metal and a combination of these. The MSW can be generated from commercial,
agricultural, industrial and domestic activities. Waste can have many effects on human health that might
be hazardous or non-hazardous (Milik, 2010, p. 38).
The annual amount of MSW generation in Egypt has increased dramatically, by more than 36%
since the year 2000, to reach 20.5 million tons per year (SWEEPNET, 2010). Cairo has the greatest share
of MSW generation in the whole country as shown in figure 1 (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 11). Cairo is the
capital of Egypt and is considered the biggest urban settlement in Egypt with few rural areas. It has a
population of 8,805,503 inhabitants (CAPMAS, 2012). The average rate of MSW generation in Cairo is
1.3 kg per person per day with an average density of 350kg per m3 (Plan Bleu, 2000, p. 33). These figures
indicate that Cairo alone generates waste of about 11,450 tons of waste per day. Figure 2 shows of
which materials Cairos waste is composed.

Figure 1: The Municipal Solid Waste Generation in Egypt

Figure 2: Cairo's Waste Composition

Source: (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 11)

Source: (Plan Bleu, 2000, p. 33)

The solid waste transport and collection efficiency in Egypt do not exceed 65%, which leads to daily
accumulations of these wastes within the streets of the residential areas and at illegal dumping sites.
Furthermore, waste recycling is not acknowledged within a legal framework. Most landfills, where final
disposal of such wastes takes place, are open and exposed. Instead of dealing properly with these
wastes by recycling or sealing them within or in landfills, open burning is the common method to deal
with such wastes, a method which has very serious negative impacts. Moreover, the necessary
equipment for covering wastes is not available. This poor handling and accumulation of waste has
serious impacts on the health of citizens and workers within the waste management sector. The main
reasons leading to such MSW problems are the non-professional methods of dealing with municipal
solid waste, low environmental awareness, the deficiency in enforcing solid wastes legislations, and the
absence of an integrated sustainable legal framework that deals with MSWM (EEAA, 2009, p. 296).

2. Institutional Frameworks and Key Players Involved in SWM

There are many key players involved in MSWM in Egypt. The public sector is divided into national and
local bodies working under the central government umbrella as shown in figure 3. The private sector is
divided into formal contracted companies and the informal traditional garbage collectors Zabbaleen.
These are discussed in the following sub-sections.

Private (formal sector)

Private (informal sector)

Figure 3: Key Players involved in SWM in Egypt

Source: (SWEEPNET, 2010)

2.1 The Public Sector

On the national level, the responsibility for MSWM is held mainly by the Ministry of State for
Environmental Affairs (MSEA) in coordination with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA).
These two bodies cooperate with other organizational bodies such as the Ministries of Local
Development, Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, Health, Water Resources and Irrigation and
Agriculture and Land Reclamation. Moreover, ministries such as that of Finance, Trade and Industry,
Investment, Interior and that of Communications and Information Technology act as important
stakeholders. The EEAA proceeds with the countrys policy directives related to the protection of the
environment, including SWM, and acts as a general facilitator. The EEAA ensures as well the
implementation of any environmentally related regulations or legislation such as laws and decrees.
Moreover, the EEAA assists the governorates in locating sites for waste handling and treatment
(SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 14).
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On the local level, governorates and municipalities or the Cleansing and Beautification Authorities (CBA),
located in large cities such as Cairo and Alexandria, are responsible for MSW handling either directly or
through the formal private sector represented by some contracted international and national companies
or the informal private sector represented by the traditional garbage collectors Zabbaleen and some
non-governmental organizations NGOs (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 14). Some other responsibilities of the
Municipalities and the Cleansing and Beautification Authorities are the following:

Issuing licenses for the above mentioned formal and informal private sectors to those responsible
for the collection of waste from vacant lots, streets, markets, gardens and waterways cleansing
activities.

Operating public composting plants either directly or through private companies.

Supervising the operations of dumping and landfill sites either directly or through private companies
(SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 14).

However, the main responsibility of local MSWM is held by the municipality. The public MSWM is
usually not efficient as it is a costly operation; the equipment used is highly subsidized. In addition, there
are some legal issues in terms of raising additional fees from users. Based on that, there are many cases
of subcontracting and subletting a considerable portion of waste collection and street sweeping services
to the private formal and informal- sectors, which are considered more efficient than the services
provided by the municipality (Plan Bleu, 2000, p. 31).
The Cairo Cleaning and Beautification Authority (CCBA) estimates the overall efficiency of solid waste
collection in Cairo at about 80%. Only 40%. of the total amount of waste generated daily is collected by
the CCBA. The traditional waste collectors, the Zabbaleen, and the formal private companies collect
another 40%. The remaining 20% are left on the streets for casual collection. In general, the public
sector has a great deficiency in terms of mechanical and human resources. Most of the accumulated
solid waste is dumped in the streets, vacant land lots and slum areas around Cairo (Plan Bleu, 2000, p.
34).

2.2 The Private Sector

The private sector comprises a wide range of enterprises, varying from informal bodies such as the
Zabbaleen, to large international and national enterprises. Those different categories are mainly
interested in profiting from their services such as collection, transfer, treatment, disposal and recycling.
The formal private sector is contracted directly either by individuals and neighborhood associations or
business establishments. These formal service providers are obliged to work under contractual
agreements with the government represented by the municipalities. The informal private sector,
represented by the Zabbaleen, is not contracted and comprises unregistered and unregulated activities
and services carried out either by individuals and families or some small enterprises (Plan Bleu, 2000, pp.
17-18).
In 2000, the government started the privatization of the SWM sector through contracting to
international and national companies. Fifteen-year contracts were signed in 2002 with four international
SWM companies to provide integrated SWM services, such as collection, transfer and disposal, in parts
of Cairo and Alexandria. One of these international companies stopped its services in 2006 due to some
contractual issues with the government. In addition to this, some local and national private companies
were contracted. In governorates other than Cairo and Alexandria, the municipalities delegate SWM
services to small private companies and NGOs or even to the Zabbaleen. Moreover, the government has
privatized some of their 49 composting plants with 88 production lines and leased all non-operating
facilities to the private sector (SWEEPNET, 2010, pp. 19-20).
The development of the informal SWM sector in Egypt goes back to the 1940s, when oasis migrants, the
Waahi, started their waste collection services for paper waste in Cairo. Later on, upper Egyptian
migrants, today known as the Zabbaleen, started garbage collection in Cairo. These migrants had
escaped the poor conditions of Egypts rural areas. They formed new settlements known as garbage
villages or cities on the outskirts of Cairo. The Zabbaleen and Waahis provide residential areas with a
daily door-to-door garbage collection service. Previously, the Zabbaleen used donkey carts for
transporting the garbage to their settlements, but now they use trucks instead. They have succeeded to
establish a highly organized system of informal collections routes (S. Greiss, Y. Sawiris, S. El Haggar, S.
Mourad & Y. Negm, 2007, p. 491).

In the beginning, the Zabbaleen survived mainly on recycling the organic waste by feeding it to goats
and pigs and collecting a small monthly fee from the residents. These informal garbage collectors had
acquired the right from the public to collect and use waste for their business. Agreements were formed
between the Waahis and Zabbaleen regarding the monthly fees and the right to use waste. All of their
activities and services were unofficial without contracts or acknowledgement from the government (CID
Consulting, 2008, p. 7). In relation to the SWM services provided by the formal private sector and the
fees they impose, the Zabbaleen are considered cheaper and more efficient.
Other bodies involved in the SWM in Egypt are the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The NGOs
in Egypt have a limited role in SWM services. NGOs operate between the private and public sectors.
Their main role is focused on improving the livelihoods of the Zabbaleen by helping build community
groups to participate in local SWM through contributing in raising peoples awareness for waste
management and environmental issues and building organizational capacity. Another role of the NGOs is
to establish community-based organizations (CBOs) and create a link between the government and the
CBOs (Plan Bleu, 2000, pp. 17-18). NGOs encourage environmentally sound SWM services and activities.
The furthermore run projects for source segregation of MSW in a few areas in Egypt (SWEEPNET, 2010,
pp. 14-15).
One example of an active NGO involved in SWM is the Association for the Protection of the Environment
(A.P.E.). This NGO is a private voluntary organization that is acknowledged by the government and
legally registered. Its main aim is to combine environmental friendly SWM practices and introduce some
recycling technology into the current Zabbaleen practice. Their efforts have improved the livelihood of
the Zabbaleen and helped create extra jobs in the field of solid waste recycling and treatment (S. Greiss,
Y. Sawiris, S. El Haggar, S. Mourad & Y. Negm, 2007, p. 490). The A.P.E. also owns and runs one of four
waste composting plants located in Cairo (Plan Bleu, 2000, p. 34).
After the presentation of the different institutions and key players involved in MSWM in Egypt, the next
section provides an overview of the current legal framework for the SWM in Egypt.

3. Environmental Policies and legalization

The Egyptian government has issued many pieces of legalization to develop the waste management
sector, but their efforts have resulted only in minor improvements. In this section of the paper, the most
important laws and legal frameworks are elaborated on.

3.1 Laws and Regulations for SWM

Egypt does not have an integrated SWM law. The legal framework of SWM in Egypt is scattered in many
pieces of legislation and represented in the form of ordinances, bylaws and regulations. Those include
inspection and enforcement responsibilities and procedures at both local and national levels. Besides
regulations, non-economic and economic incentives are important instruments of SWM (Plan Bleu,
2000, p. 11). The most significant pieces of legislation are the following:

Law # 38/1967 is considered the first piece of legislation concerning SWM. The main aim of this law
is to regulate the collection and disposal of solid wastes from residential area, commercial and
industrial establishments and public areas. This law imposes a cleanliness tax on all housing units
equivalent to 2% of the rental value. Article# 6 of this law requires that the local council issue a
license for all workers employed as waste collectors (Plan Bleu, 2000, p. 11). This law is not fully
enforced as the majority of the Zabbaleen work without permits or licenses.

Law # 31/1976 amends law # 38/1967 and defines both garbage and solid wastes as products of
domestic and industrial activities. This law furthermore specifies the means of transportation, the
types of garbage containers and the frequency of solid waste collection (Plan Bleu, 2000, p. 11).

Law # 4/1994 imposes Environmental Impact Assessments on all commercial and residential
developments or industrial projects. This law introduced a solid waste fund, the Environmental
Protection Fund, to finance a variety of relevant environmental projects. This Fund is mainly
financed by the government, the fines paid by those violating the environmental regulations and
donations. It also offers some incentives to organizations and individuals involved in environmental
protection projects, especially those dealing with land, water and air pollution (Plan Bleu, 2000, p.
12). However, due to political corruption many violators do not pay those fines.

Law # 10/2005 amends Law # 38/1967 and was issued by the Egyptian Peoples Assembly. This law
imposes a new solid waste collection fee added to the electricity bill, which citizens have to pay
according to their residence area and income level. This law resulted in partial cost recovery of
money spent on SWM services (SWEEPNET, 2010, pp. 14,19).
10

The Prime Minister Decree # 1741/2005 amends the executive regulations of Law # 4/1994. Article
# 11 of this law regulates the selection of SW sites regarding recycling and landfilling. It also specifies
the necessary equipment for waste collection and transport (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 14).

Law # 9/2009 amends Law # 4/1994 for the protection of the environment. Articles # 29 - 33 of this
law regulate collection, disposal and treatment of hazardous solid waste. Moreover, Article 37/2 of
this law prohibits the open burning of solid waste, as well as the sorting, treatment and placement
of wastes in areas other than those specified, away from residential, agricultural and industrial areas
and waterways (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 14).

The Presidential Decree # 86/2010 regulates the closure of all existing landfill and dumping sites in
Cairo and their rehabilitation. This law furthermore allocates five new sorting, recycling and final
disposal sites, to be located outside the commercial and residential belt of Cairo (SWEEPNET, 2010,
p. 14).

3.2 Programs and Strategies for SWM

In this section of the paper, an overview of the most important programs and strategies, those related
to the enhancement of SWM in Egypt, will be provided.
One of these programs is the Egyptian Environmental Policy Program (EEPP), which was prepared within
the years 1999 - 2002 to support reforms of policies, regulations and institutions within the
environmental sector (USAID, 2002). The main objectives of the EEPP were to improve performance and
efficiency of the SWM sector through a combination of improved administration, strategic planning and
enhanced public awareness. The EEPP focuses also on supporting the participation of the private sector
(SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 15).
Under the umbrella of the EEPP, the National Strategy for Integrated Municipal Solid Waste
Management (IMSWM) was issued by MSEA and EEAA in 2000. The main aim of that strategy was to
build a new infrastructure to improve the national IMSWM system through the following policies and
actions (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 15) (EEPP Program Support Unit, 2000):

Control and eliminate accumulation of solid waste.

Provide safe and efficient collection, transfer, storage and management of solid waste.

Work on minimizing waste production, recycling, composting, combustion/waste-to-energy, and

sanitary landfilling in both urban and rural areas.

Promote the development of the recycling industry and develop markets for recycled products.
11

The central government is the supervisor and the facilitator of the implementation of the strategy.

The municipalities and governorates role is to plan, monitor and control.

The principle of public-private and community participation and involvement in the different stages
of SWM planning, development and implementation.

Increase public awareness of environmental issues.

The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) which means each polluter has to pay for the costs of the pollution
resulting from his operation.

Full cost recovery has to be applied to encourage the participation of the private sector.

The national strategy has initiated some changes in the SWM sector, such as the following (SWEEPNET,
2010, p. 16):

Privatization of service by contracting international companies (in Alexandria and parts of Cairo and
Giza) to provide integrated SWM, and national companies in some other governorates to handle
SWM.

Introducing a partial cost recovery mechanism and setting up tax and customs exceptions to attract
investment to the sector.

Rehabilitating some existing dumping sites and turning them into controlled dumping sites in the
governorates of Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia.

Removing, in cooperation with the Military Forces National Service Agency, around 15 million m3,
out of 40 m3, of the accumulated waste and transferring it to controlled dumping sites.

However, many of the recommendations of the strategy were not implemented fully. For example the
privatization of the SWM sector faced many difficulties because the central government is not well
prepared to build its capacities to monitor, inspect the service quality, evaluate and enforce the law. In
other words, the local government authorities are playing a new role as supervisors of the private sector
in addition to their former role as service providers. Arguably greatest weakness of the National Strategy
for Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management (IMSWM), however, was the insufficient attention
given to how to incorporate the traditional waste collectors in Cairo, the highly efficient Zabbaleen, into
the privatization initiative (UN Egypt, 2005, p. 79).

12

In order to improve the waste recycling sector in Egypt, another strategy was issued in 2006 as a part of
the Regional Solid Waste Management Project (RSWMP) by EEAA. This strategy covers regulatory issues
related to waste recycling activities, especially for the major recyclable materials (in particular plastics),
for the period between 2008 and 2013 and seeks identification and assessment of any feasible options
to enhance the recycling sector (SWEEPNET, 2010, p. 16).

Some of the recommendations of this strategy include:

Promoting source separation of MSW

Establishing central recycling centers on the national level

Introducing and implementing the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in which the
responsibility of the producer for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of the life cycle
of the product (OECD, 2001)

Establishing national standards for recycled products and the recycling industry

Unfortunately, none of the above mentioned recommendations have been realized till today
(SWEEPNET, 2010). The next section of the paper considers the particular difficulties and constraints
facing the mentioned SWM policies and institutional frameworks.

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4. Difficulties and Constraints

Numerous difficulties and constraints slow progress in the SWM sector in Egypt. Some of these
constraints are due to current policies, others to financial, legal and institutional contexts.
Some of the main constraints facing the SWM sector in Egypt can be dedicated to the deficiency of the
government in planning and providing an attractive environment that should encourage the formal and
informal private sectors to participate more in an integrated SWM system. This lack of integration within
the SWM sector manifests itself as a lack of interaction between the different SWM stakeholders and
their practices. Such integration could achieve sustainability within the SWM sector. There are some
other issues such as the absence of programs aimed at raising public awareness regarding integrated
SWM (Milik, 2010). The following sub-sections discuss further reasons for the deficiency of the current
SWM system in Egypt.

4.1 Constraints Due to Policies

The following are the main constraints within the national and local policies and the SWM sector are
(Plan Bleu, 2000) (SWEEPNET, 2010):

The ultimate objective of SWM is unclear. In other words, it is not clear whether the main objective
is to adapt integrated SWM through a combination of waste reduction, recycling and reuse or just to
get rid of the accumulated waste.

Policies and laws are not effectively enforced: violations, both by those who provide waste services
and by those who receive them, are frequently not prosecuted. This has various reasons:
1. A lack of personnel to enforce the law
2. A lack of funds to assist those who should enforce the law
3. A lack of advanced SWM facilities and equipment for the analysis of contamination
4. Corruption

The inability to reach an agreement on a national strategy that is accepted by the different
stakeholders and participants in SWM.

Neither the Zabbaleen nor the NGOs were taken into account in the policy-making.

14

4.2 Institutional and Financial Constraints

There are many organizational and financial as well as institutional constraints that slow progress in the
SWM sector. Some of the main ones are (SWEEPNET, 2010) (Plan Bleu, 2000):

The responsibility for SWM is divided between several governmental bodies, rather than being held
by just one governmental body. This results in discrepancies and conflicts.

The fact that there is no unified legislation on SWM results in conflicts of responsibilities.

Many conflicts rose between some international SWM companies and the government regarding
interpretations of their contracts, especially over the social insurance values for their employees
that has to be paid, and the constant delay of these payments.

Citizens prefer the door-to-door traditional collection system of household waste, which is mainly
provided by the Zabbaleen, which are, however, still not considered in SWM policies.

In Cairo and Alexandria, the costs per ton for street sweeping, waste collection, transport, disposal
and treatment are around 110 EGP (14 Euros) and only 60 EGP (8 Euros) in other governorates. Such
low contract costs lead to poor services that meet neither citizens expectations nor environmental
targets.

The current gap between SWM finance and cost recovery is around 35%.

The lack of funding that is allocated for environmental and SWM strategies.

The lack of capacity-building, professional training centers and programs for those working within
the SWM sectors.

In order to achieve integrated SWM, professional and scientific training, management and planning are
required through the implementation of a series of socio-economic and institutional programs on both
national and local levels that include also the informal sector (the Zabbaleen). The next section discusses
opportunities for the development of the SWM in Egypt.

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5. Options for Improvement

There are many proposals to improve the SWM sector in Egypt. In this part of the paper, the most
important recommendations are illustrated. Many of these have been suggested by different initiatives
and organizations, such as Plan Bleu - Regional Activity Centre - Environment and Development in the
Mediterranean and SWEENET, The Regional Solid Waste Exchange of Information and Expertise Network
in Mashreq and Maghreb Countries (Plan Bleu, 2000, pp. 69-70) (SWEEPNET, 2010, pp. 27-28, 35).
1. Technical recommendations:

Increasing the number of transfer stations where solid waste is sorted and labeled

Introducing to the public the concept of multiple-use packaging materials such as glass or plastic
bottles, and textile rather than plastic shopping bags

Setting up drop-in stand points where people can return plastic or glass bottles and receive a refund
from the same manufacturing companies or from other recycling institutions

Providing programs and periodical public campaigns that encourage people (e.g. by means of
financial incentives) to sort their household waste at source and thus minimize waste and prepare
for it being recycled

Implementing projects that aim to generate energy from waste (Biogas projects)

Reviewing constantly the standards related to the production and the use of recyclable materials in
respect to environmental and technical specifications

Applying standardized techniques on both national and local levels for measuring and monitoring
the annual generated quantities of different types of waste

Providing accurate estimations of amount and composition of solid waste and any other related
SWM activities

Establishing a central data base for SWM providing data on: waste generation rates and
composition; human and mechanical resources; waste collection, transport, disposal, treatment,
recycling techniques and machinery; market prices for waste materials, recycled products and
recycling machinery. Such a data base could provide data on local, regional and national levels and
be used by those involved in SWM practice

Closing all existing open dumping sites and establishing controlled dumping until proper landfills are
set up

Establishing an electronic waste management system (e.g. mobile phones and PCs)

16

2. Financial recommendations:

Increasing the current cleanliness tax on all housing units in order to achieve cost recovery

Increasing the budget allocated for SWM services deducted from the national budget

Encouraging recycling industries and waste minimization to aid cost recovery

Dedicating a specific budget to aid the development of the recycling industry

Giving incentives to waste collectors and recyclers by minimizing customs, extra fees and taxes

Giving extra incentives to waste sorting at source programs

Preparing feasibility studies for SWM projects

Exploring the potential profit from the government-owned composting facilities after their
rehabilitation

3. Legal recommendations:

Establishing a unified national integrated SWM law under the supervision of one authority

Facilitating the privatization process of the SWM sector based on a cost recovery approach

Modifying the contracts with the private sector to a system for accounting based on cost per ton
and increasing the values of those contracts

Finding a legal mechanism to include the informal sector Zabbaleen in the privatization process and
make use of their expertise especially in recycling

Enforcing the cleansing laws, decrees and regulations, especially those prohibiting the open
dumping and open burning of waste

Introducing the so-called Environmental Police that can focus only on public or private cases of
abuse and violations of the environmental laws and regulations, especially those related to SWM

Enforcing the Polluter Pays Principle which was recommended by the national strategic framework
proposed in 2000, in addition to the Extended Producer Responsibility principle

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4. Administrative recommendations:

Establishing specialized administrative units known as Environmental Management Units (EMUs) in

both urban and rural areas in order to deal with waste problems and provide plans regarding SWM
in their specific areas

Cooperation between these EMUs and the Ministry of State for Environment Affairs (MSEA) in order
to combine both local and national plans based on EMUs recommendations and feedback

Providing specialized training programs and capacity building for the EMU staff in the fields of
contracting, planning, implementation and follow-up of SWM services in addition to programs for
human resource development and the maintenance of SWM equipment

Establishing action plan and national capacity building programs to integrate the conceptual,
technical, and social skills required in order to facilitate multi-stakeholder and the Zabbaleen
participation

Separating the contracting authorities from monitoring authorities in order to avoid corruption,
control fines and assure transparency and validity

5. Institutional recommendations:

Encouraging national and international NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to
participate in evaluating SWM problems and take part in developing solutions

Organizing a series of training programs for building capacities of the local NGOs and CBOs that work
in the field of environment protection and SWM in particular

Providing environmental education at both public and private schools and universities

Encouraging the establishment of commercial chambers and labor unions for those who work in the
SWM field, including the Zabbaleen

Providing social and health insurance for those working in SWM with a special care to those dealing
with hazardous waste

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6. Conclusion
This paper illustrates the situation of MSWM in Egypt with focus on Cairo. It is clear that the MSWM is a
serious problem that has direct and indirect implications on environment, public health and the national
economy. The efficiency of solid waste collection in Egypt does not exceed 65% and 80% in Cairo, which
leads to the daily accumulation of solid wastes within the streets of the residential areas and at illegal
dumping sites.
The key players involved in SWM are the central government with its different ministries and authorities
and the formal private and informal sectors. The latter is represented by the traditional garbage
collectors, the Zabbaleen, who collect around 40% of the daily generated solid waste in Cairo. Of this,
the Zabbaleen recycle around 80% and with the help of some NGOs, such as the A.P.E., they have been
able to further improve their recycling techniques. A.P.E.s main role is to improve the livelihood of the
Zabbaleen. Furthermore, they own and run one of the countrys 49 waste composting plants.
The SWM system suffers from the absence of a clear and integrated legal framework for SWM. It has
been shown that the SWM legal frame work in Egypt is scattered into many pieces of legalization from
bylaws and decrees to regulations and policies. Moreover, these policies and laws are not effectively
enforced, neither among the providers not the receivers of waste services. Egypt has initiated some
action plans in order to develop and improve the SWM sector, such as the Egyptian Environmental
Policy Program (EEPP). This action plan was aimed at improving the performance and efficiency of the
SWM sector through a combination of improved administration, strategic planning and enhanced public
awareness, with more focus on supporting the participation of the private sector. Unfortunately, their
efforts resulted in only minor improvements due to the lack of professional human and mechanical
resources, vision and future planning. Another disadvantage of this action plan is that the government
has not considered the situation of the Zabbaleen or tried to legally integrate them and provide them
with social and health services.

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Finally, this paper has presented some recommendations, proposed by consulting agencies and other
organizations such as Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centre and SWEEPNET, The Regional Solid Waste
Exchange of Information and Expertise Network in Mashreq and Maghreb Countries. These proposals
and recommendations include the creation of a unified SWM legislation and national standards that
include the private sector, formal and informal. It has transpired that the role of the private sector
needs to be more clearly specified within transparent contracts. Raising public awareness regarding
SWM practices and environment protection is a must, because the cooperation of the public is vital for
solving the problems regarding current SWM practices. The Zabbaleen have to be acknowledged and
included in any future planning, because they are highly efficient and play a central role cultural role in
current SWM practices. Similarly, the NGOs and CBOs should be more involved in the various SWM
planning and implementation phases and encouraged by the government.

Integrated municipal solid waste management in Egypt, which would enhance the quality of life, protect
the environment and improve economic conditions, should be the main goal of any policy or future
action plan. The recommendations discussed in this paper can ease the way to this goal.

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