The new solid waste recycling plant was inaugurated on October 25, 2022 by Egypt’s Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad. The facility is located in Huta, a village in the El Manzala region of Dakahlia governorate. The plant recycles about 640 tons of solid waste per day. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, this waste will be converted into “resources of economic value”.
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The recycled waste will be supplied from several collection centers in the northeastern sector of Dakahlia governorate, including Minyat Al-Nasr, Kurdi, Mit Selsel, Gamalia, Manzala and Almatariya. The aim is to reduce pollution in this governorate with a population of nearly 7 million. “Like electricity, transport and oil, waste is a risk to the environment because it emits methane gas,” says the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment. This gas is responsible for 30% of global warming.
Through plants like the one inaugurated in Dakahlia, the Egyptian government wants to respect its international obligations. The country of the pharaohs notably ratified the Paris Agreement in 2015. The agreement aims to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The other GHGs besides methane are carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
The Egyptian authorities also want a conducive environment to host the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations on Climate (COP27) which is already on the horizon. Scheduled from November 7 to 18, 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, the meeting will be an opportunity for Africa to make progress on certain priorities including financing adaptation and resilience to climate change.
Inès Magoum