The European Investment Bank (EIB) has just launched technical assistance for the municipality of Chefchaouen in Morocco, particularly in the area of household waste management. The European institution's support will mainly enable a pre-feasibility study to be carried out to evaluate and organise this sector, which is responsible for pollution.
The technical assistance launched on 12 April 2023 in the northern municipality of Chefchaouen in Morocco will be implemented by the City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund), an initiative implemented by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in partnership with the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the World Bank. The support, which will be technical and financial, is aimed in particular at optimising the management of household waste in Chefchaouen.
Initially, the Gap Fund will assess the composition of household waste in this Moroccan municipality in order to estimate its economic potential. This estimate will later enable the development of a technically and financially viable concept to reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill.
Promotion of the circular economy
The collected organic waste will be recovered as fertiliser for agriculture. Biogas will also be produced from the fermentation of this waste, in accordance with its new master plan for Chefchaouen. This gas is used as a fuel for the production of heat and electricity, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, the city of 42,000 inhabitants recently received financial support from the General Directorate of Local Authorities of the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior for the closure of the Chefchaouen landfill and the opening of a landfill and recovery centre that complies with current standards.
“It is essential to make better use of urban waste for environmental, economic and public health reasons, but also to promote the development of a circular economy that is conducive to innovation and creates value and jobs,” stresses Anna Barone, the EIB’s representative in Morocco.
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The Gap Fund will also formulate proposals for governance in the household waste sector in Chefchaouen, taking into account public, private and community management for service provision. After Chefchaouen, the EIB aims to launch technical assistance in other Moroccan municipalities in order to reduce pollution in the Kingdom. This is part of the Bank’s sustainability and climate performance policy.
Inès Magoum
