Middle East

Waste

The countries of the Middle East are incredibly disparate on a variety of levels, especially socioeconomically. Generalization across the region is difficult. Nevertheless, leaving aside the oil-rich Gulf states, Middle Eastern countries mainly fall in the developing world category, as concerns their garbage: most produce about half to one-third the amount of municipal solid waste per person per year of the developed world, and their waste tends to be high in organic content. The World Bank estimated that in 2002, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria together produced over 40 million tons of municipal solid waste, at an average rate of 248–259 kilograms/person/year, that is, between 0.68 and 0.71 kilograms/capita/day. An increase of 44 percent in total regional waste generation was predicted over the 1998–2010 period. In terms of composition, the same study estimated that organic waste comprised 55–70 percent of the solid waste, plastics 11–14 percent, and paper and paperboard 8–10 percent.

Despite an estimated $325–$400 million expenditure across the enumerated countries in 2000, solid waste management is very inadequate. With increasing urban populations and waste generation rates, the prognosis is negative. Syria, where large areas of towns and cities are unserviced or under-serviced—up to 80 percent in some cases—is not exceptional by regional standards. Poorer residents almost invariably get the short end of the stick. They must often fend for themselves, burning their waste or throwing it in canals, empty lots, or streets and alleyways near their homes to decompose. Their garbage may eventually be picked up by municipal street cleaners. If it is collected at all, waste often gets dumped in antiquated or improvised facilities lacking effective controls. Incineration is limited.

Official recycling figures, whether waste management is in public or private hands, are low. Tehran, where waste is collected by the municipality, is estimated to recycle 5 percent; Jordan's rate is the same, most of which is achieved by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), rather than by the official system. Real recycling rates are probably much higher, however, since few major cities in the region are without at least some informal-sector waste recovery. Cairo is home to a group often celebrated as the “world's best recyclers”: the zabbaleen allegedly put 80 percent of the thousands of tons of waste they collect daily to profitable use. The scale and sophistication of the zabbaleen is exceptional, however, and this rate is not representative of the region on the whole.

...