Waste

Cairo, Egypt

15-May facility delivers comprehensive waste management, compost and 75000 tonnes of CO2 reductions

What is it?

The 15-May facility in Cairo incorporates all components of a comprehensive solid waste management system, with the goal of diverting maximum amounts of waste away from landfill. The project implements and operates an efficient municipal solid waste sorting and composting facility and avoids methane generation at landfill sites.

How does it work?

The facility serves Cairo Southern Zone, where around 1 million people live. The facilities receive large volumes of waste – volumes that are rising by 5% each year. 1500 tons of domestic waste and 500 tons of demolition waste are received each day. Of this, over 50% are organic materials and 44.5% “other”.

All domestic waste is directed to the sorting, composting and refining processes. On average, around 35% of volume is inert material, which is rejected and transported to the landfill for disposal along with demolition waste. There is a low percentage of recyclable materials (paper 0.05%, glass 0.15%, textiles 0.03%, plastics 0.15%, metals 0.12%), because recyclables are removed from the waste at the point of collection.

There are four main phases to the municipal solid waste sorting and composting process: waste reception and pre-sorting, sorting of recyclables and bailing, treatment of organic material by biological aerobic process, and preparation of compost products for sale.

The process requires strong expertise and is costly and labour intensive. Moreover, only four plants in Egypt share this composting technology – other plants have been closed due to lack of financing, as municipalities generally pay low tipping fees. Picking of recyclable materials at the point of collection reduces revenues for the facility operator.

Results

• The project has been a success and generates financial savings of over US$ 200,000 per year excluding CDM revenues.
• The efficient sorting of organic matter means it can be used to produce compost, which is then sold to local users at a price of $9.10 per ton.
• The sorting and composting process is estimated to reduce emissions by 75000 tCO2e per year.