H How to im mprov
H How to im mprove the e recy ycling g proccesse es in E Egypt t R Recycle Reusse Red duce R Rethink Presentted by: Ghada Adly A M May, 2009 Mona Hegazy H Hesham m Mahmou ud Recycling in Egypt Table of Contents 1.Introduction ....................................................................................................... 3 1.1.Recycling definition in general 1.2.Waste hierarchy ...................................................................... 3 .......................................................................................... 3 1.3.The problem definition 1.4.Current situation .................................................................................. 4 .......................................................................................... 5 1.4.1.Recycling in Egypt: “facts & figures” ........................................................ 5 1.4.2.Factories statement for garbage recycling and production of organic compost in Egyptian governorates 2.Recycled products ................... 7 .............................................................................................. 9 3.Pictures for recycling factories in Egypt 4.Recycling Timber ............................................................................................. 21 5.Creative and new ideas for Recycling 6.Conclusion 7.Sources .............................................................. 14 ................................................................ 21 ...................................................................................................... 25 .......................................................................................................... 26 2 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 1. Introduction 1.1. Recycling definition in general Recycling involves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production. Recycling is a key component of modern waste management and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" waste hierarchy. Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste – such as food or garden waste – is not typically considered recycling. Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing. 1.2. Waste hierarchy The waste hierarchy refers to the 3Rs of (reduce, reuse and recycle) which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability. The 3Rs are meant to be a hierarchy, in order of importance. The waste hierarchy has taken many forms over the past decade, but the basic concept has remained the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste. 3 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Some waste management experts have recently incorporated a 'fourth R': "Re-think", with the implied meaning that the present system may have fundamental flaws, and that a thoroughly effective system of waste management may need an entirely new way of looking at waste. Some "re-think" solutions may be counter-intuitive, such as cutting fabric patterns with slightly more "waste material" left -- the now larger scraps are then used for cutting small parts of the pattern, resulting in a decrease in net waste. This type of solution is by no means limited to the clothing industry. Source reduction involves efforts to reduce hazardous waste and other materials by modifying industrial production. Source reduction methods involve changes in manufacturing technology, raw material inputs, and product formulation. At times, the term "pollution prevention" may refer to source reduction. Another method of source reduction is to increase incentives for recycling. Many communities in the United States are implementing variable rate pricing for waste disposal (also known as Pay as You Throw - PAYT) which has been effective in reducing the size of the municipal waste stream. Source reduction is typically measured by efficiencies and cutbacks in waste. Toxics use reduction is a more controversial approach to source reduction that targets and measures reductions in the upstream use of toxic materials. Toxics use reduction emphasizes the more preventive aspects of source reduction but, due to its emphasis on toxic chemical inputs, has been opposed more vigorously by chemical manufacturers. 1.3. The problem definition Recycling is very important process for the following reasons: 1. Saves Natural Resources - By making products from recycled materials instead of virgin materials, we conserve land and reduce the need to drill for oil and dig for minerals. 2. Saves Energy - It usually takes less energy to make recycled products. 3. Saves Clean Air and Water - In most cases, making products from recycled materials creates less air pollution and water pollution than making products from virgin materials. 4. Saves Landfill Space - When the materials that you recycle go into new products, they don't go into landfills or incinerators, so landfill space is conserved. 5. Saves Money and Creates Jobs - The recycling process creates far more jobs than landfills or incinerators, and recycling can frequently be the least expensive waste management method for cities and towns. We have to raise people awareness of recycling processes and give them the opportunity to participate on the process, and to teach their kids the Main 3R Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. And to give an idea about the recycling in Egypt and how to improve the recycling processes by illustrating the recycling in the integrated countries, not every community is alike but still there are lessons to be learnt and could be activated in Egypt, we have to stop thinking as consuming community, we have to change the consuming culture, and encourage recycling processes in Egypt. 4 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 1.4. Current situation 1.4.1. Recycling in Egypt: “facts & figures” The "garbage collectors” are from Egyptian community, who are employed in the city of Cairo to collect and dispose of much of the city's waste. The "garbage collectors” generally perform this service very cheaply or for free, making a living by sorting the waste materials for reuse or recycling. Waste food is fed to livestock (most often pigs) or poultry. Other materials, such as steel, glass and plastic bottles, are sorted by hand and sold as raw materials. Other items are repaired or reused. Some material is burnt as fuel. Traditionally, donkey driven carts are used by males to collect waste from homes, which are sorted by female members of the family in "garbage people” homes. It is claimed that "garbage collectors” reuse or recycle 80-90% of the waste they collect (a figure that the most modern waste management systems in the world aspire to), however this must be put into context of the fact that the "garbage collectors” do not collect all the waste, and concentrate on wealthier areas. Until the 1980s, there was no formal system of waste collection in Cairo. All collection was performed by "garbage collectors”. This informal garbage collection system is still a fundamental part of the city's solid waste management. The "garbage people” collect between a third and a half of the 6,500 tonnes of Municipal solid waste that Cairo produces every day, with half being collected by the city and private companies and the remaining 1,500 tonnes left uncollected, generally in the poorest areas. Any uncollected garbage that is burnt will severely exacerbate the air pollution problem in Cairo. The "garbage collectors” live in an area known locally as Garbage City. The "garbage collectors” in Cairo (an estimated 60,000 - 70,000 in number) are mostly descendants of poor farmers from Upper Egypt who settled in the city in the 1950s. Many "garbage collectors” suffer from health problems such as hepatitis, due to the low-tech sorting methods used and general poverty. Municipal authorities in Egypt have tried for several years to replace the "garbage collectors” with modern waste collection and disposal methods, primarily employing large foreign companies. This process has attracted controversy in the area, with many residents objecting to higher fees for the modern disposal service. The modern collection service has also been criticized for being unable to recycle as much of the waste material as the "garbage collectors”. 5 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Figure 1 Recycling in Moqattam, Cairo Figure 2 Recycling in USA The recycling journey in USA goes as below figure, and the different sources for materials to be recycled. 6 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 1.4.2. Factories statement for garbage recycling and production of organic compost in Egyptian governorates Governorates Governmental Private Cairo 10 Qatamya & 15 May city - None-working Factories Total 2 Salam city 15 3 Qatamya Giza 2 Abu Rawash 2 Shobramnt - 4 Quliobia - - - - Alexandria - 3 - 3 Behaira 1 Edko - 1 Damnhour 3 1 Kafr El Dawar Matroh - - 1 1 Monifa 1 Menouf - - 1 Gharbia 1 Mahla El Kobra 2 Dafra, Tanta - 3 Kafr El Sheikh 1 Seidy Salem 2 Bela - 3 Demietta 2Demitta - 1 Ras El Bar 3 - 1 Mattria 7 2 Mansoura 1 Belquas Dquhlia 1 Bshla, Met Ghumr 2 Aja North Sinai - - 1 Ariesh 1 South Sinai - - 1 Sharm el Sheikh 1 Port Saied - 1 - 1 Ismailia 2 Ismailia Suzie road - 2 Suzie - - 1 1 7 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Sharquia 1 Zagzig 1 Abu Kabeer Beni Suef 1 new- Beni Suef - 1 Belbeis 3 2 1 Smstta Menia 1 Mlowy - 1 New Menya 2 Fayom - - 1 Fayom 1 Assuit 1 - - 1 New Valley 1 Kharga - - 1 Sohaj 1 - - 1 - - 2 1 Qena Qena 1 Najaa HamadI Aswan - 2 Aswan (Care Services) - 2 Red Sea - 1 Hurghada - 1 Luxor - 1 Luxor - 1 Total 66 NOTE: The recycling factories are managed by government or private. 8 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 2. Recycled products a) b) c) d) e) a) Plastic Glass Aluminum Paper Other recycled products and materials Plastic (bottles, bags, ags, hanger,…etc) Collecting:: Plastic for recycling can be collected from people’s homes, from recycling sites, and from businesses. (Recycled plastic can be spun to make clothes). Sorting: Plastics are sorted into their different polymer types at a materials recycling facility (MRF). The polymer type tells us both the properties and characteristics of the material, like its melt temperature and its suitability for recycling. The symbols used d to classify the different polymer types can be found on plastic object (such as cups and bottles) and are as follows… Shredding and Cleaning: Once stored, the plastics are baled (compressed by a machine into a bale shape) before being transported to a plastic p reprocessing plant. Once at the reprocessing plant, the plastic is shredded into small pieces which are then washed. After washing, the plastic pieces are passed under a metal detector to remove any metal, and a de-dusting dusting unit which removes any lighter li particles. Melting and Extrusion: The clean plastic pieces are dried and melted so they can be made into new shapes. The melted plastic is then filtered to remove any remaining contaminants, and extruded (passed through a wire screen) to form fine strands s like spaghetti. Some recycled plastic is extruded into very fine strands that can be spun into fibre to make fleeces, sleeping bags or ski jackets. Palletizing: If not used for spinning into fibre, the plastic strands are cut into pellets, cooled in water, then dried and stored ready to be processed and moulded into new plastic items. b) Glass Types of Glass: Different types of glass go through different recycling processes foe e.g. Cement dust Recycled to Glass. And Cookware (like pyrex dishes) melts at much higher temperature than container glass and must be processed separately. This process follows container glass. 9 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Types of glass include: Container glass; Jam jars, wine bottles, beer bottles Float glass; windows, flat glass. Cookware; pyrex dishes tableware (plates, wine glasses) Automotive Glass; windscreens. Collecting: glass for recycling can be collected from people’s homes, recycling sites and from businesses Sorting: Glass for recycling is mostly collected from bottle banks are painted in the color of the glass to be placed in them. The bottles sorted in a depot. When lots of glass has been collected and delivered to the depot, it is all transported to a glass recycling facility. Crushing and cleaning: Once at the recycling facility, the glass is crushed. Crushed glass is called cullet. Cullet goes through many processes to remove items that are not glass. The remove ferrous (magnetic) metal, the cullet is passed through a strong magnet which removes the ferrous metals such as steel and iron. To remove non-ferrous (not magnetic) metal, the cullet passes by powerful air jets which separate the metal pieces from the cullet. To remove lightweight items (like paper) the cullet goes through a vacuum. To remove any remaining items that are not glass (like ceramics), the cullet passes under a laser which ejects them. Uses of Cullet: The cullet is now ready to be made into new glass at a glass making facility. Cullet can also be crushed even smaller to become like powder and used as aggregate. Making new glass: To make new glass, the cullet goes into a furnace where it is melted at a temperature of 1500 ºC The high temperature turns the cullet into a liquid called molten glass. The molten glass is shaped in moulds to become new bottles to jars. Recycled glass is melted at a lower temperature than brand new glass, which saves 30% of the energy used. 10 of 26 Recycling in Egypt c) Aluminum Collection: Many things are made from aluminum, but probably the most recognizable are cans. Aluminum cans for recycling can be collected from people’s homes, from recycling sites, and from businesses. Sorting, Baling and Compressing: before being taken to an aluminum recycling facility, the cans are passed under a magnet to remove any steel cans. Aluminum is a non-ferrous metal, so it is not magnetic. Steel is ferrous metal, so it is magnetic. The magnet picks up the steel cans and separates them from the aluminum. The remaining aluminum cans are then crushed and compressed to form bales and transported to an aluminum recycling facility. Shredding and Decoating: Once at the facility, the cans are shredded into small pieces about the size of a 50pence piece. These pieces then pass through a magnet which removes any remaining ferrous metal such as steel. The shredded aluminum then travels to a decoater, where hot air (at 500ºC) removes any coating or decoration. Melting: The hot cans go straight from the decorators the furnace, where they are melted at a temperature of 700ºC. Once melted, the liquid aluminum) also know as molten aluminum) is transferred to a holding furnace which cleans any remaining contaminants, and a degasser which removes any gas. Casting, Shaping and Rolling: The liquid aluminum is poured into cooled rectangular shaped moulds. The cooling turns the aluminum back into a solid metal and the solid moulded shapes are called ingots. These aluminum ingots are taken to a saw where the ends are made square, and are now ready to be transported to a rolling facility, where they will be rolled into large sheets of aluminum. 11 of 26 Recycling in Egypt d) Paper A paper recycling project, tested from 1992-1993 was formally launched in 1994 with its own physical space, project officers, budget, etc. It too targets girls at the age of puberty and above and incorporates the same elements as the rag recycling project. e) Other recycled products and materials Glue (recycled form bones) Paper and carton Fabric and leather Metal Enter lock, road’s pavement (Recycled from cement dust) List of the environmental offices & consultants in Egypt: Adan Environment Co. Address: 384 El Haram st., Giza, Egypt Phone: 22467810 Fax: 22467810 Website: http://www.adan.8rf.com Activities: Plastic & Tire Recycling systems, Hydraulic Baling Presses, Recycling Project, Feasibility Study, Environment Consultation, Adan provide all engineering consultancy for recycling waste, they can also designing production lines for plastic recycling: Crystallize machines Threz plastic recycling machines Movie machines Breaking plastic Injection machines Global Environment technology Co. Ltd. (GETCO) Address: Phone: Fax: Website: 46 Abdel allah Al Arabi, Nasr City, 7th, Cairo, Egypt 226222267 226222268 http://www.globentech.com Activities: GETCO has evolved into a rapidly growing company known for its experience & expertise in the design and building of waste management & waste treatment systems & technologies. Experience enables GETCO to offer cost effective customized solutions for even the most difficult waste management problems. Recyclables materials such as newspaper; steel and aluminum cans; brown, green and clear glass; polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers, they can provide Recycling Equipments & Machineries 12 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Mabrouk international Address: P.O: Phone: Fax: Website: Cairo Alex Road, Egypt Box 167 403298690 403298690 http://www.mabroukegypt.com Activities Solid Waste Collection & Transport, Sorting & Composting, Subterra-Constructed Wetlands, Compact WWT Plants, Water Purification 13 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 3. Pictures for recycling factories in Egypt Sawiris Solid waste management project, Fayoum Compressing processes Sorting processes Recycling factory, EEAA Composting Plastic Recycling 14 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Recycling In UK; Paper Separate paper from the other items in your recycling box (if you have one) to make it easier for the recycling collectors. Most types of paper are accepted: newsprint, magazines, envelopes (including the plastic windows) and junk mail, without plastic wrappers. With unwanted mail of course the better way is to stop it being delivered in the first place. Colored and brown papers were previously excluded because they can leave flecks in the finished product and reduce its brightness. 33% of what we throw away is paper and cardboard What Happens Next? All inks, glues, staples, plastic film etc. are washed out with soapy water, a process which is helped by the proportion of magazines in the mix. Magazines contain clays that help to lift inks during washing. Cleaned paper pulp is sent to a paper-making machine where it is injected between two wire meshes to form a damp sheet, before passing through hot drying cylinders. New papers could be coming back to you, in the newsagents or through your door, within three to four weeks. Cardboard Cardboard packaging is everywhere. It can take up a lot of room in the average household rubbish. It is made of cellulose fibers, generally from wood pulp, which can be used again if recycled. Try to avoid buying items which contain large amounts of packaging. Some companies such as removal firms will supply cardboard boxes which they then take back for reuse. Cardboard makes excellent compost. Scrunch it up and put it in your compost bin with kitchen and garden waste. It also makes excellent mulch for vegetable beds However because of its light weight and low quality it holds little monetary value for recycling. Cardboard containers need to be flattened as much as possible and empty. If possible, it is also helpful to remove any obvious fastenings, adhesive tape etc. 15 of 26 Recycling in Egypt What Happens Next? Cardboard recycling involves soaking in water and agitating to release fibers, turning them back into pulp. Metal and ink contaminants are removed, additional finishing chemicals are added; the pulp is pressed into sheets and dried. Although the fibers get shorter each time they are pulped, cardboard can be recycled four or five times before fibers degrade and disintegrate. Glass All bottles and jars are accepted, and it helps if they are rinsed, with caps and lids removed. If using bottle banks please sort bottles into the correct colors because if there is contamination with different colors of glass the quality of the glass is reduced. Blue bottles are classed as green. Only a few types of glass are not suitable, as they are manufactured differently, e.g. toughened (like Pyrex), window panes, and ornamental (such as vases). Glass is special because it can be recycled again and again. That means using less energy in furnaces. Buy refill packs or look for returnable bottles wherever possible. Reuse glass bottles and jars for storing odds and ends or donate to a local jam maker. What Happens Next? The glass is sorted by color, washed and impurities are removed. It is crushed into cullet (small pieces) and melted, then moulded to make new bottles and jars. Glass comes round again in more decorative ways too, for some walkways in Bristol city centre. Food Tins Food tins are made of steel, coated by a thin layer of tin. It is really important that food cans and tins are rinsed before collection: it is only a moment’s work but very helpful. Not only are dirty tins unhygienic and unpleasant to deal with, contamination can disrupt the smelting process. You do not have to remove the labels from the tins as these are fired off during the extremely hot smelting process. What Happens Next? A magnet is used to separate the steel from aluminum cans. They are melted down in furnaces, with iron ore and oxygen is added to remove impurities. The impure metal (slag) is separated and may be used in road-building. The pure metal is made into blocks (ingots), rolled into many shapes and sizes and water-cooled. It will be used for more tins, or car parts, fridges and other domestic appliances. On a grander scale, what once was a humble food tin might just become part of a bridge. 16 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Aluminum Cans The energy it takes to make one new aluminum can is enough to make 20 recycled ones. This is the most valuable of recyclable materials It takes 4 tones of bauxite to make 1 tone of aluminum; mining and transport both use large amounts of energy Aluminum is always in demand and it is very important to remove cans, and foil, from our waste bins. Aluminum cans should be cleaned before recycling, although the labels do not have to be removed as the hot smelting process will destroy these What Happens Next? Cans are sorted, baled and taken for crushing into large blocks, and sometimes shredded for reprocessing. Melting removes all inks and coatings before metal is made into blocks (ingots), which can be huge, 2 x 8 meters and 60cm thick, and weigh as much as 20 tonnes. Each one contains about 1.6 million drinks cans. Ingots are sent to mills where they are rolled into sheets from 0.006mm to 250mm gauge. This rolling adds strength to the pure aluminum which then travels far, to can makers all over Europe – and within just six weeks those new shiny drinks cans are back on the shelves. Aluminum Foil Bottle tops, take-away containers, as well as cooking and wrapping foil are all welcome. It is easy to mistake silver-coated plastic (such as crisp packets) for the real thing. The squash test works every time: aluminum foil will stay crushed in your hand, the plastic sort springs back. Foil should be washed and squashed together and kept separate in the recycling box. What Happens Next? Foil is recycled separately from cans because it is made from a slightly different alloy of metal. It is similar to the aluminum can process, without the de-coating or shredding. Ingots are much smaller, about a meter long, from which more foil is made, or a range of products such as light-weight car parts. 17 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Clothes, Shoes and Textiles Different areas have their own range of materials which are accepted. Generally clothes should be reusable and clean. Shoes should be tied in pairs. It is important that these materials are kept dry to avoid mould which ruins them - one bag of damp clothes can contaminate a whole load. Cloth and footwear should be carefully sealed in plastic bags. What Happens Next? Clothes and shoes are either sold to people here through charity shops, or are sent to developing countries where they are used again. The same applies to household linens, curtains etc. (where they are collected); lower quality textiles, not fit for wear, are taken in some districts and go for fillings or cleaning rags. Wool can be recovered and re-spun. Spectacles You can also send spectacles in good condition (they do not take broken frames or bifocals) to the charity centers. Some Local Authority recycling collection schemes will take spectacles If using a recycling collection service it does not matter if the lenses or the frames are broken – donate them anyway. What Happens Next? They are sorted and cleaned and then passed onto a charity donate them to communities in developing countries. Car Batteries Ask your local authority if you can recycle car batteries through your recycling collection service, or should you take them to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre (tip) A huge press crushes the car batteries, breaking them down into valuable component parts which can then be carefully sorted: Plastic is thoroughly washed, dried and ground up into granules which are used in many different products, including recycling collection boxes, furniture, paint trays, car parts, drainpipes and – fittingly – more car battery cases. Lead is melted down to make not just more car batteries, but also guttering for roofs and shields for X-ray machines in hospitals. Acid is treated and neutralized. Distilled Water is purified and used again. 18 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Green Waste About a third of the average household refuse bin is made up of waste that could be composted. Composting saves money – there’s no need to fork out on commercial products from garden centers. Home-made compost makes an excellent soil conditioner and a rich source of plant food. It’s easy AND it’s free! Garden waste can be taken to your local household waste recycling centre or you may receive a garden waste collection. Composting is the best method of recycling biodegradable matter. Unlike the toxic cocktail of landfill, good composting conditions enable aerobic breakdown into nutrients and soil-conditioners, a valuable resource – and virtually free for gardeners. Do Compost Kitchen waste – such as fruit skins and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and crushed egg shells. Garden waste – grass cuttings (but not too much at a time), hedge clippings, pruning’s, old plants and flowers. Crumpled or shredded card and waste paper – including cardboard tubes and egg boxes. Try to avoid heavily colored paper. Wood ash - but not coal. Human hair and animal fur. Autumn leaves – in small amounts. Otherwise put them in bin liners where they rot down and are great for mulch. Old pure wool jumpers and other natural fabrics. Sawdust & bedding and manure from vegetarian pets such as rabbits. Don’t Compost Cooked food, meat and fish. Droppings from meat-eating animals. Magazines and heavily inked cardboard. Nappies. Coal ash and soot. Plants infected with persistent diseases such as clubroot, white rot & blight. The roots of persistent weeds like bindweed or couch grass. Synthetic fabrics. Glass plastic and metal – these should be recycled separately. 19 of 26 Recycling in Egypt What Happens Next? Whatever you decide! Compost produced from your own compost bins can be used as a mulch to discourage weeds, dug into your soil around your plants or used in window boxes or pot plants. Plastic Wherever possible buy refillable plastic containers and try to avoid unnecessary packaging Plastic is a problem, and most people realize why. It is not going to go away: because natural processes will never be able to break it down. Its manufacture uses petrochemicals from oil supplies which cannot be replaced, and involves high-temperature furnaces and longdistance travel. Plastic is also very light, often filled with air, and can take up a huge amount of room. Most discarded plastic is buried in landfill. But it is valuable and should have more than one life – above ground! There are many different types which must be separated before processing and the ‘bottle’ type is most suitable for recycling. So the kind of container used for milk, fizzy drinks, shampoos, detergents, cleaning fluids etc., is collected. At Two main types of plastic are recycled: basically clear and opaque. These are chopped into flakes, formed into pellets, and then melted down for manufacture into various new products – although the material will not be used to contain food or drink again. Instead hard surfaces for furniture are made or flexible drainage pipes. Diapers Throwaway Diapers are costing the earth – literally. For tomorrow’s world and today’s children: it’s time to rethink Set up as a waste minimization initiative in 2001, The Real Diaper Project encourages parents, nurseries, clinics and hospitals to use washable nappies and reduce the volume of disposables going into the waste stream. It is run by the Recycling Consortium; an awareness-raising not-for-profit organization. Computers Every year over 1 million computers end up in our landfill sites. At the moment less than 20% of old computers are recycled! There are a number of national companies which take large amounts of redundant PC's from businesses for re-use, as well as local community projects which take PC's for refurbishment and then pass these on to charities, schools, low income households and developing countries overseas. 20 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 4. Recycling Timber Recycling timber has become popular due to its image as an environmentally friendly product, with consumers commonly believing that by purchasing recycled wood the demand for "green timber" will fall and ultimately benefit the environment. Greenpeace also view recycled timber as an environmentally friendly product, citing it as the most preferable timber source on their website. The arrival of recycled timber as a construction product has been important in both raising industry and consumer awareness towards deforestation and promoting timber mills to adopt more environmentally friendly practices. Example of Recycled timber as a finished product 5. Creative and new ideas for Recycling Recycling doesn’t have to be limited to helping the environment; It can also be a challenge and opportunity to ingenious designers who work with materials most people would consider waste to create amazing things. Some of the following designs serve multiple purposes: Illustrating the material possibilities of what most would consider trash while also maximizing the aesthetic potential of what would otherwise be considered waste objects. Clothes become rugs, airline trolleys become furniture, cardboard becomes bridges and sewage turns into building blocks. The Volksware designers have provided an interesting alternative way of recycling clothes that may not even bit fit for the Salvation Army. By stitching them and rolling them they have created a simple carpet system that can be cut to length and fit to a space. Something to think about the next time someone tells you to pick your clothes up off the floor! 21 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Ever wonder what happens to those oddly shaped airplane trolleys when the airlines are done using them? Well, so did Bordbar before they began appropriating and adding splashes of design to them and reselling them to the public as useful (if odd) multipurpose mobile furniture. These are highly customizable have a surprising range of possible functions once they are recycled into use. There are few things being produced as rapidly, regularly and in such volume as newspapers. Many of these are, of course, recycled by traditional means, but what if they could serve another purpose that didn’t require the same amount of reprocessing? Sumer Erek has been working on one such alternative: reusing newspaper as interior decoration and insulation in a house. The Remarkable product design team has created a series of colorful and useful versions of traditional products made out of unusual recycled materials. Their approach is quite simple yet compelling: They brand individual products with information about their origins. This makes for conversation pieces but also raises awareness about the origins and potential of composite recycled materials. 22 of 26 Recycling in Egypt Architect Shigeru Ban is well known for a number of high-profile architectural designs but perhaps less so for his artistic and ecological side projects such as the cardboard bridge. This bridge is composed over 250 recycled cardboard tubes with recycled paper and plastic comprising the stairs. Amazingly, this recycled bridge can hold up to 20 people at once! The BituBlock may interesting and almost artistic … until you realize it is made from postconsumer recycled products including ash, glass and, yes, sewage. Still, it doesn’t smell and ultimately it is an incredibly strong and durable building block that rivals other materials such as concrete that would be used in similar situations - and does so using almost entirely reused and recycled materials. The Remida Center appropriates scrap materials from all kinds of local businesses in order to gain raw materials ranging from wood and metal to plexi-glass and plastic that students can use in art projects. The idea is both to facilitate art but also to raise awareness about the origins of materials, essentially recycling otherwise unused materials and putting them toward the production of art. 23 of 26 Recycling in Egypt There are all kinds of approaches to garbage gardening that appropriate trash items and reuse them for decorative or practical purposes in gardens. The example shown is just one of many including colorful mosaics from broken dishes and assorted other ideas. Not extreme enough? Try guerilla gardening instead! Italian designer Marcella Foschi has developed a quite clever way to recycle cassette tapes: a product material that exists in abundance but is associated with a dying (or dead) technology. Her coin purses are at least cute (if not collectible) and appropriate a material we all know, love and have stopped using. Marcella Foschi isn’t the only one with ideas on how to reuse audio tapes. Some clever designers have taken it to the next level and begun to weave sonic cloth from the actual tape within the cassettes. It’s worth the effort, and more people understand why. Any contribution, however small, will mean a little less plastic buried forever. 24 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 6. Conclusion We have to raise the awareness of recycling, by using the media effect and that will orient the people to be environmentally friendly, and to understand the 3Rs Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and to stop thinking as a consuming community. Recycling could be fun and challenging process, we have to teach ourselves and our children to challenge themselves and think out of the box, and create something useful out of waste materials; by that way of thinking we could save money and energy. We can start by facilitating the job for garbage collector, by sorting the garbage in different colored garbage bags. For example, We could make, blue bag for glass, green bag for food waste, yellow bag for papers, black bag for toilet paper waste, and so on. That will facilitate the work for the garbage collectors, and will save time in the recycling process. And we have to raise the living conditions for the garbage collectors, and to erase their ignorance, because they are doing a good job in recycling we need their efforts in recycling process, as they reuse or recycle 80-90% of the waste they collect, a figure that the most modern waste management systems in the world aspire to. Donate any of your stuff that you won’t use any more to charities, poor people will appreciate your donation, and you will have enough room for your new stuff. Update your information from time to time, to know the recent news about Recycling processes and if the new ideas could be applicable in Egypt or not. We will become more environmentally friendly not only through a reduced amount of waste green but also through a heightened public awareness of the importance of preserving the environment and how each one of us can play a positive role in it. 25 of 26 Recycling in Egypt 7. Sources National Strategy for Integrated Management of Municipal Solid Waste 2000 Baseline Document of Solid Waste System in Egypt 2001 Ministry of state for environmental affairs http://www.eeaa.gov.eg Egyptian environmental affairs agency industrial unit http://industry.eeaa.gov.eg Egyptian hazardous substances information & management system http://www.eeaa.gov.eg/ehsims American Chamber in Egypt SITA company, UK (the leading provider of recycling and waste management services in the UK) http://www.sita.co.uk UNESCO http://www.unesco.org Green pages http://www.eco-web.com Sawiris Foundation http://www.sawirisfoundation.org A.P.E. (The Association for the protection of the environment), 5 Hakim Attalah st., Manshiet Naser, Qalaa. http://www.ape.org.eg 26 of 26
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