To reduce pollution from organic waste, the wilayas of Sétif and Constantine in north-eastern Algeria have decided to strengthen their sustainable waste management practices. As part of a joint project entitled Integrated Waste Management and Local Energy Production in Algeria (AIM-WELL), some 500,000 tonnes of organic waste will be recycled each year as fertiliser and energy.
The wilayas of Sétif and Constantine are determined to align their organic waste management policies with Algeria’s national circular economy strategy. On 28 May 2024, they launched a joint project in the capital Algiers entitled Integrated Waste Management and Local Energy Production in Algeria (AIM-WELL). The initiative aims to transform solid and organic waste into fertiliser and energy in these wilayas in the north-east of the North African country within five years.
The target for organic waste recovered between 2024 and 2029 is around 500,000 tonnes a year, or almost 2.5 million tonnes over the next five years. In the wilaya of Sétif, the project plans to transform 600 tonnes of this waste per day into fertiliser for agriculture and energy through dedicated plants, i.e. 18,000 tonnes every month and 216,000 tonnes over the year for this wilaya alone.
Funding from the Global Environment Facility
In the wilaya of Constantine, home to the city of Constantine, one of the oldest cities in the world, the “AIM-WELL” initiative will create a household waste sorting, treatment and recovery centre with a capacity of 750 tonnes per day, or 22,500 per month and 270,000 tonnes per year. The Divindus industrial group, through its laboratory, will ensure quality control of the fertilisers produced to protect public health and the environment, under an agreement signed with the authorities of Sétif and Constantine.
In addition to reducing the amount of waste destined for landfill, the Algerian Ministry of the Environment and Renewable Energy expects other positive spin-offs to include a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as methane and carbon dioxide (CO2), improved access to electricity from renewable sources, improved sustainable agriculture, the creation of added value for waste, and the generation of new jobs.
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will coordinate the work of Algeria’s integrated organic waste management project, which will benefit from a $4.6 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
“AIM-WELL” also includes representatives from several sectors, as well as bodies such as the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CNESE), the National Climate Change Agency (ANCC), the National Waste Agency (AND), and the local authorities of the wilayas of Sétif and Constantine.
Inès Magoum
