Over the past few years, Egypt's capital has struggled with handling waste. To improve solid waste management, the Egyptian government introduced new legislation. The informal e-waste management sector will become an official sector through collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Egypt then went one step further and introduced a recycling app to entice Cairo residents to trade rubbish for consumer goods as another tactic to promote proper waste disposal. The objective is to promote secure electronic product recycling.
With the help of the government's newly released E-Tadweer app, users can upload images of electronic devices they no longer need or outdated products that have become obsolete. This way they are able to recycle their old electronics at drop-off locations designated by the app in exchange for vouchers that can be used to buy new electronics from affiliated retailers.
According to a World Health Organization research, e-waste is now the fastest-growing type of household waste worldwide. Statistics provided by the ministry, Egypt generates around 90,000 tons of electronic waste each year, of which 58 percent is generated by the business sector, 23 percent by homeowners, and 19 percent by the governmental sector.
The World Health Organization has issued a warning against improper methods of material removal from electronic waste because they have a negative impact on human health, particularly in youngsters.
The Egyptian government is anticipated to offer a number of incentives for private waste management companies, according to Jamal Al-Muslimi of the E-Tadweer team, who spoke to Arab News. Any long-term recycling strategy must take into account the numerous low-income families who rely on waste as a source of income and must ensure that no one is left behind by changing the way things are done now. Closing dangerous landfills in Cairo and Giza is another step toward developing a successful waste management system. The city's official waste-management sector would also be strengthened by E-Tadweer, creating new jobs and raising rubbish sorters out of poverty. If E-Tadweer is a success, Cairo's Ministry of Environment will search for equivalent remedies for the city's agriculture, solid waste, and medical waste problems.
