Improving Solid Waste Management in Egypt

In 2012, Egyptian in­dus­tries, agri­cul­ture and house­holds gen­er­ated more than a tonne of waste per capita per year. A sub­stan­tial amount of the waste went un­treated into rivers or onto roads and outdoor areas, with only about 60% of the waste col­lected, less than 20% 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 finalised an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Environment on a National Solid Waste Management Programme for Egypt. The programme'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 programme in the form of a joint project between the public development financing organ­i­sa­tion (KfW) and the Society for Inter­na­tional Cooperation (GIZ).

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, in 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.

In the meantime, the planning phase has been completed in which master plans for the future concept for SWM in the two governorates in Upper Egypt. The following plants are under constructionrespectively will then be constructed during the "immediate implementation phase":

• Five transfer stations in Assiut and one in Qena
• One sanitary landfill in Assiut as well as one MBT Plant (capacity 2x30t/h) 
• Rehabilitation of an existing RDF plantin Quosiya (Assiut Governorate)
• One sanitary landfill in Quos (Qena Governorate) as well as one MBT Plant (capacity 2x30t/h)

The construction work is well progressing for the Transfer stations, where the detail design is ongoing for the treatment facilities and the sanitary landfills. In order to complete the site supervision works of the new SWM infrastructures in 2022, an extension for the consultancy services is scheduled.