Waste Characterization Study in Fayoum and Minya, Egypt

With the waste management services being deficient, municipalities and rural communities would dispose of the waste by burning it outdoors which affects air quality in addition to cultivated areas or dispose of it near irrigation or sanitary water canals, ravines, and uncultivated land which causes a serious environmental problem. This is a common scenario in the rural areas of developing countries such as India, Mexico, and Egypt. Moreover, there is an absence of data on the characteristics, quantity, density, and generation rate of the waste which increases the challenges of providing sustainable solid waste management (SWM) services.

The targeted study area of this project covers three villages in Markaz Etsa in Fayoum Governorate: (1) Qalamshah, (2) Monshat Ramzy, and (3) Abou Defeya. The main objective of the project is to perform a municipal solid waste (MSW) characterization study in these three villages including the waste disposed in water ways where MSW management services are either non-existent or insufficient: thus, making them a high priority and an effective advancement step towards achieving the bigger goal of sustainable municipal solid waste management.