An Egyptian delegation comprised of representatives from Qalyubeya Governorate and the Participatory Development Programme (PDP) visited Tunisia and Morocco from 1 to 9 December 2012 as part of a study tour on solid waste management.
The goal of the tour was to exchange information and experiences in the field of municipal solid waste management, to build on good practices in the region and to form partnerships between cities in the field of waste management.
During the tour the Egyptian delegation got to meet with representatives of government on the central and local level as well as private sector companies in both countries. The delegation also visited recycling centers, landfills and treatment facilities.
The main topics covered were:
Institutional Strengthening and Establishment of the National Agency for Waste Management (Tunisia)
System recovery of plastic packaging (ECO-LEF) (Tunisia)
Landfill biogas, leachate treatment and CDM project (Tunisia)
Planning and organisation within municipalities (Morocco)
Managing and monitoring the private sector (Morocco)
Opportunities for partnerships between cities (Morocco)
The most important lessons learnt on the study tour were the significance of strong institutional set up for waste management at the central and local level for effective waste management, the need for integration of the informal sector and the importance of innovative means for covering costs of services. The municipalities of Rabat and Tunis agreed to form ongoing partnerships with the governorate of Qalyubeya and to continue to exchange information and expertise after the tour.
The Egyptian delegation was comprised of decision makers and technical staff working in the field of municipal solid waste management in Qalyubeya governorate and members of the PDP solid waste management team. The Solid Waste Management component of the PDP seeks to support stakeholders in Qalyubeya governorate and the cities of Khosoos and Khanka to develop integrated community based waste management systems.
The study tour was organised by the PDP together with SWEEP-Net, the regional solid waste exchange of information and expertise network in Mashreq and Maghreb countries.