Like other mega-cities, solid waste management is a huge challenge for Cairo municipality and other stakeholders. The city produces more than 15,000 tons of solid waste every day which is putting tremendous strain on city’s infrastructure.
Around 60 percent of the solid waste is managed by formal as well as informal waste collection, disposal or recycling operations while the rest is thrown on city streets or at illegal dumpsites. The present waste management is causing serious ecological and public health problems in Cairo and adjoining areas. Infact, disposal of solid waste in water bodies has lead to contamination of water supplies is several parts of the city. Waste collection in Cairo is subcontracted to ‘zabbaleen’, local private companies, multinational companies or NGOs. The average collection rate ranges from 0 percent in slums to 90% in affluent residential areas.
See on www.ecomena.org