How is Egypt fighting single-use plastic bags?

Egypt is ramping up efforts to reduce dependence on single-use plastic bags: The Environment Ministry launched a nationwide campaign this month — called Reduce It — to raise awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic bags, according to a ministry statement. The campaign was launched in cooperation with the Japanese government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido).

The details: The campaign aims to raise awareness about the environmental and health dangers of single-use plastics and encourage behavioral change among consumers.

Why it matters: Reducing plastic bag production would cut down on raw material imports, support environmentally-friendly manufacturing, and encourage the use of reusable bags among consumers — a move that would reduce overall costs and waste. Reducing reliance on single-use plastic bags will also open the door for green industries to grow, creating new jobs as a result.

There’s also the environmental impact: Excessive plastic waste hurts marine life, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said. She also cited an example from the Red Sea’s Qulaan area, where large amounts of plastic waste were found in the stomachs of goats, causing damage to the wildlife and ecosystem in the area.

By the numbers: Egypt consumed nearly 5 mn tons of single-use plastic products during the fiscal year 2022-2023. A study (pdf) conducted by the UN Environment Programme’s SwitchMed initiative in 2020 found that the country generates 16.2 mn tons of waste annually, with plastic accounting for 6%, or around 970k tons, of which 45% is recycled and 5% is reused.

The breakdown: As of 2015, grocery stores accounted for the largest percentage of plastic bag consumption at 25%. They were followed by fruit and vegetable kiosks (20%), stores (17%), supermarkets (14%), and fast food and restaurant chains (6%). The annual consumption of plastic bags sat at 124 per capita.

The long-term plan: Egypt plans to cut the average annual consumption of plastic bags to 50 per person by 2030, according to targets set in 2022 per its national strategy to reduce the negative impact of single-use plastic bags’ consumption. The strategy is being carried out by the industry, environment, health, international cooperation, local development, tourism, finance, and supply ministries.

REMEMBER- The government announced a plan to ban single-use plastic bags in Sharm El Sheikh back in 2022, resorting instead to environmentally-friendly tote bags.

And it’s still going strong: Sharm El Sheikh is still pushing on with the initiative to limit plastic use as part of the governorate’s green strategy, aiming to ban single-use plastic in 50 hotels across the city by next fiscal year, foster community-led environmental initiatives, and collaborate with more private sector and international entities.

El Gouna tackles the issue a little differently: The Red Sea resort town of El Gouna operates a high-efficiency recycling plant that processes various types of waste, achieving 96% efficiency in processing various waste types. Plastic waste is recycled into new plastic bags. All waste is pre-sorted, and color-coded bins are placed across the city to make it easier for residents to contribute.

Other initiatives on the table: Alexandria-based social enterprise Banlastic Egypt is also working to tackle plastic pollution by supplying eco-friendly alternatives, running clean-up campaigns and workshops, and lobbying policymakers to ban single-use plastics.

Regulations are also being introduced to back this up: Earlier this year, the cabinet passeda draft decision extending the Extended Producer Responsibility — a policy that makes producers fully responsible for their products throughout their entire lifecycle — to plastic shopping bags. The draft decision requires manufacturers and importers of plastic shopping bags to track their sales through the National System for Waste Information and Data Management and enhance safe disposal methods. The draft decision will also introduce incentives for importing and producing eco-friendly alternatives.

Implementation won’t be without hurdles: Single-use plastic bags could be hard to recycle due to their low value and the high cost of recycling them, Executive Director of Greenish Mohamed Kamal told Business Monthly. Another issue will be ensuring that medium-sized businesses and distributors comply with the regulations, Kamal said, adding that it is essential to ensure compliance through penalties and transparency in fund collection.