The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) in collaboration with various stakeholders will develop an Integrated Community-Based Solid Waste Management System in Two Selected Areas in Khosoos and Khanka cities in Qalyubeya Governorate in the Greater Cairo Region. The project will be executed through the Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas (PDP), an Egyptian-German development program implemented by the Ministry of Economic Development (MoED) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) with financial assistance from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The four-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and managed by GIZ through the support of Qalyubeya Governorate aims to encourage community participation in the management of waste services, promote the value of waste as a resource and improve living and working conditions for the urban poor working on the provision of waste services.

This project comes in the context of the strong and growing interest of the Government of Egypt to find integrated and sustainable solutions to some of the key environmental challenges affecting the daily lives of Egyptian citizens. The Solid Waste Management Strategy for Egypt emphasizes the need for collaborative efforts to address the challenges of waste management and the project will work with local stakeholders including public administration, civil society, informal operators and the private sector to develop an agreed upon community-based solid waste management strategy. The approach adopted by the project is premised on the need for collective community participation to address the challenges facing urban communities. It is hoped that this model if proven successful-could be replicated in other cities in Egypt through the support of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), which is a key partner providing technical support to the project.

 A number of activities will be undertaken by the project within the context of the strategy including awareness raising to promote the value of waste and to encourage reuse and source segregation, capacity development for stakeholders on various aspects of waste management, integration of informal workers in the waste management system and establishing two integrated resource recovery centres in the two cities. These activities will lead to the creation of job opportunities for the urban poor and contribute to general improvements in the living environment for local communities in these cities.

Further information: Press Release by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.