Nassa , Heba; Bil agy, Ma wa Shibl; Sa wa , Aya Mohamed
A icle
The ole o was e- o-ene gy inwas e managemen in
Egyp : A echno-economic analysis
Re iew o Economics and Poli ical Science (REPS)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Cai o Uni e si y, Cai o
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Nassa , Heba; Bil agy, Ma wa Shibl; Sa wa , Aya Mohamed (2025) : The ole o
was e- o-ene gy inwas e managemen in Egyp : A echno-economic analysis, Re iew o Economics
and Poli ical Science (REPS), ISSN 2631-3561, Eme ald, Bingley, Vol. 10, Iss. 2, pp. 151-167,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1108/REPS-09-2022-0062
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/316138
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The ole o was e- o-ene gy
in was e managemen in Egyp :
a echno-economic analysis
Heba Nassa and Ma wa Bil agy
Depa men o Economics, Facul y o Economics and Poli ical Science,
Cai o Uni e si y, Giza, Egyp , and
Aya Mohamed Sa wa
Facul y o Economics and Poli ical Science, Cai o Uni e si y, Giza, Egyp
Abs ac
Pu pose –Egyp has se plans o ans o m in o a g een economy which equi es majo e o ms in he was e
sec o as one o he mos i al sec o s c ucial o his ans o ma ion. This s udy aims a inspec ing he cu en
s a us o he Egyp ian was e sec o o highligh he majo policy e o ms needed. Fu he mo e, i assesses
he economic iabili y o es ablishing was e- o-ene gy (W E) p ojec s unde he cu en egula ions ha go e n
he sec o .
Design/me hodology/app oach –The s udy employed an induc i e analy ical app oach o sc u inize he
ins i u ional and egula o y amewo k o he was e and W E sec o s. Fu he mo e, a no el echno-economic
analysis was conduc ed o assess he p o i abili y o a W E plan ha employs mo ing g a e incine a ion
echnology.
Findings –The analysis o he was e sec o e ealed i s de e io a ing s a e and he di e need o immedia e
es uc u ing h ough mo e s ingen egula ions o es ablish an in eg a ed was e managemen sys em
(IWMS) ha inco po a es W E echnologies as well as a numbe o co ec i e ac ions ha would help enhance
he sec o . Addi ionally, he echno-economic analysis e ealed he need o amend he cu en W E egula ion
o comp ise a ga e ee as an indispensable e enue s eam o W E p ojec s.
O iginali y/ alue –This s udy is one o a ew s udies ha uses a new echnique o analysis o explo e he
po en ial ole ha W E p ojec s can play in Egyp as a pa o an IWMS ha aims a ans o ming he was e
sec o in o a esou ce sec o while p o iding a enewable and sus ainable sou ce o ene gy.
Keywo ds Was e- o-Ene gy, Solid was e managemen , Sus ainable de elopmen , G een businesses,
Renewable ene gy
Pape ype Resea ch pape
1. In oduc ion
Egyp has been ying o accele a e economic g ow h and achie e sus ainable de elopmen
o yea s. Ne e heless, he coun y has been su e ing om d as ic economic and
en i onmen al p oblems as a esul o adop ing a g ow h pa e n ha did no uly pu sue
sus ainabili y. In ecen yea s, ollowing he decla a ion o he sus ainable de elopmen
goals (SDGs), Egyp o mula ed i s sus ainable de elopmen s a egy 2030 ha in eg a ed
he ision o ans o ming in o a g een economy ha ul ills he h ee pilla s o
sus ainabili y.
This ans o ma ion necessi a es d as ic es uc u ing o i al sec o s in he economy
including he was e sec o . Hence, his pape showcase he cu en solid was e managemen
Was e- o-
ene gy: a
echno-economic
analysis
151
© Heba Nassa , Ma wa Bil agy and Aya Mohamed Sa wa . Published in Re iew o Economics and
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Recei ed 1 Sep embe 2022
Re ised 4 Janua y 2023
Accep ed 19 Feb ua y 2023
Re iew o Economics and Poli ical
Science
Vol. 10 No. 2, 2025
pp. 151-167
Eme ald Publishing Limi ed
e-ISSN: 2631-3561
p-ISSN: 2356-9980
DOI 10.1108/REPS-09-2022-0062
(SWM) p ac ices ha p e ail in Egyp and assesses he impac o in eg a ing was e- o-ene gy
echnologies (W E) in he con ex o an in eg a ed was e managemen sys em (IWMS) in he
coun y. W E p ojec s can be conside ed an op imum o m o g een businesses o be
es ablished in Egyp o se e he dual pu pose o supplying a sus ainable enewable ene gy
sou ce while mi iga ing pollu ion om escala ing amoun s o municipal solid was e (MSW).
This s udy cons i u es a ela i ely new a ea o esea ch in he Middle Eas and No h
A ica (MENA) egion which eme ged om he g owing in e es in he ole o g een
businesses such as W E in he con ex o a g een economy. Acco dingly, he aim o his s udy
is o b oaden he knowledge o he p ospec i e ole o was e- o-ene gy echnologies in
enhancing he Egyp ian was e sec o . Hence, i in es iga ed he ins i u ional and egula o y
amewo k ha go e n he Egyp ian was e sec o o e alua e i s e icacy and o e adequa e
sugges ions o enhance i s s a us and he ole ha W E can play in his.
Ve y ew s udies ha e in es iga ed he ole o was e- o-ene gy in Egyp . The sec o is s ill
in i s ini ia ion phase and assessing he p ac icali y o W E p ojec s is s ill obscu e.
Acco dingly, his pape o e s a no el - app oach o examining W E po en ial h ough
conduc ing a echno-economic analysis o an incine a ion based W E plan o allow o
calcula ing a ious p o i abili y indica o s o assess he economic iabili y o such p ojec s
unde cu en egula ions.
The pape is o ganized in o six sec ions, he i s sec ion is he in oduc ion, ollowed by an
in-dep h analysis o he Egyp ian was e sec o , he hi d sec ion o e iews he eme ging W E
sec o , he ou h sec ion demons a e he ad an ages and challenges o he W E sec o in
Egyp , he i h sec ion showcase he echno-economic analysis o es ablishing a W E p ojec
in Egyp and he inal sec ion is he conclusion and policy implica ions.
2. The Egyp ian was e sec o
Solid was e managemen (SWM) is one o he mos se e e p oblems acing en i onmen al
managemen in Egyp . The was e p oblem in Egyp can be a ibu ed o mul i ace ed ac o s
including as popula ion g ow h, g owing economic ac i i y, indus ializa ion, u baniza ion,
lack o awa eness, illi e acy, un es ained slum a eas, lack o clea policies, he mul iplici y o
was e sou ces and componen s, he limi a ions o he exis ing de ices managing hem in
e ms o adi ional was e collec ion and disposal sys ems, he beha io o indi iduals and
ins i u ions, human and inancial esou ces sho age as well as sca ci y o land ill si es o
inal was e disposal. This needs o be add essed by he go e nmen h ough noncon en ional
solu ions o a oid, educe, euse and ecycle was e (Egyp ian En i onmen al A ai s Agency
(EEAA), 2019;Minis y o En i onmen , 2016). Acco dingly, Egyp has seen a huge su ge in
he gene a ed was e which esul ed in ad e se impac on public heal h, he en i onmen and
na u al esou ces. The cu en was e managemen sys em (WMS) in Egyp do no gua an ee
p ope ea men o disposal o was e. Howe e , he was e gene a ed in Egyp has he
po en ial o be u ned in o use ul p oduc s (Chemonics Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018).
2.1 The egula o y and ins i u ional amewo k o he Egyp ian was e sec o
The legisla i e and ins i u ional amewo k o he was e sec o in Egyp is blu y. The e is no
single en i y esponsible o was e managemen , ins ead he esponsibili y o was e
managemen is sp ead be ween di e en en i ies acco ding o he was e s eam. Up ill 2020
he coun y had no uni ied SWM law. The sec o was mainly adminis e ed by Law
No. 38 /1967 on Gene al Public Cleanliness and Law No. 4 o 1994 which is he main law o
en i onmen al p o ec ion in Egyp as well as he Public P i a e Pa ne ship Law No. 67 o
2010 ( he PPP Law) which ep esen he enabling amewo k o in es in he in as uc u e o
he sec o and inco po a e in es o s om he p i a e sec o (Minis y o En i onmen , 2016).
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In addi ion, P ime Mins e Dec ee No. 3005 o 2015 es ablished he was e managemen
egula o y au ho i y (WMRA) as an independen se ice au ho i y in a ilia ion wi h he
Minis y o En i onmen (ARE, 2015). WMRA was gi en a wide ange o esponsibili ies o
enhance was e managemen in Egyp bu has allen sho o ul ill hose esponsibili ies.
Hence, a s udy by he Na ional Ene gy Co po a ion (TARSHEED) (2017) ecommended ha
he egula ions and s uc u e o WMRA should be e o med which ook place in Law 202
o 2020.
Law 202 o 2020 o egula ing was e managemen was es ablished o be an inclusi e law
o enhance was e managemen in Egyp . I in eg a ed he concep o sus ainable de elopmen
o he i s ime in was e ela ed egula ions in Egyp . Acco dingly, i dissol ed WMRA and
eplaced i wi h a new one ans e ing all i s esponsibili ies, liabili ies and employees o he
new one. In addi ion, law 202 encompassed impo an a icles ha we e missing om
p e ious laws such as A icles 15 and 16 which s ipula ed ha he p oduce o owne o was e
should ollow he was e hie a chy and shall bea all cos s ela ed o he applica ion o
en i onmen ally sa e IWMS. Mo eo e , open incine a ion was banned in A icle 20 and
A icle 40 s ipula ed ha all open un egula ed land ills a e o be closed wi hin wo yea s om
he issuance o he law. A icle 25 s ipula ed ha he p ime minis e in coo dina ion wi h he
elec ici y and enewable ene gy minis e shall se a eed-in- a i (FiT) o elec ici y om
W E p ojec s acco ding o echnical and economic s udies o each he alue ha would
encou age in es men in his ield. The law also s ipula ed mul iple penal ies o he iola o s
o he law a icles. Mos no ably, a icle 32 in he law es ablished new bodies called municipal
was e in eg a ed managemen uni s (MWIMU) which a e en i ies esponsible o in eg a ed
managemen o municipal was e (ARE, 2020). The examina ion o he long an icipa ed Law
202 e eals ha al hough i called o a p ope IWMS and in eg a ed W E p ojec s as pa o
was e handling p ocesses, he e is no signi ican di e ence ega ding WMRA’s oles and
esponsibili ies om he p e ious egula ion o gua an ee he new au ho i y’s pe o mance
and ensu e i s success in managing and e o ming he was e sec o .
The ins i u ional amewo k o he sec o emains ela i ely unclea . I comp ises o
mul iple s akeholde s including go e nmen al au ho i ies, in o mal was e collec o s, he
p i a e sec o and was e managemen and ecycling companies. Gene ally, he was e sec o
s akeholde s can be ca ego ized in o wo main g oups: Fi s , he cen al go e nmen . Second,
he p i a e and in o mal sec o including he in o mal was e collec o s’communi y,
con ac ed SWM ope a o s, nongo e nmen al o ganiza ions (NGOs), ecycling and was e
managemen i ms and in e na ional dono s.
2.2 Was e sec o in Egyp
The analysis o he Egyp ian was e sec o e eals ha i is cha ac e ized wi h ine icien and
old was e collec ion, handling, ea men , s o age and disposal echniques. Municipali ies a e
he i s le el in he SWM sys em in Egyp as was e collec ion and anspo a ion is hei
esponsibili y. Ne e heless, municipali ies a e gene ally p esen in u ban a eas while many
u al a eas lack an ope a i e sys em o collec and anspo was e. Hence, a ne wo k o
in o mal was e collec o s and ade s exis s as an ac i e playe in he collec ion and
p ep ocessing o was e especially MSW as in o mal collec o s collec MSW in pa allel o he
go e nmen . The e o e, mos o he sepa a ion and p ep ocessing o ecyclables a e ca ied
ou in o mally (Chemonics Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018).
The collec ion p ocess o MSW su e s om huge ine iciency as i is mainly ca ied ou
h ough indi iduals, companies and ins i u ions ha use di e en ine icien me hods o
collec ing, so ing and disposal o solid was es om households, indus ies and he se ice
sec o . The collec ion is ei he ca ied ou by small was e companies wi h a license o collec
om houses, o by he adi ional in o mal was e collec o . A se ice ee is paid mon hly
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153
olun a ily by he was e p oduce (households, e c ...) wi h no commi men o pay i was e
gene a o s e use o ecei e his se ice. This mon hly ee is a uni o m a e un ela ed o he
olume o he gene a ed was e wi h a p ice dispa i y in he cha ge among households and
among households and o he economic en i ies and among di e en loca ions. Mo eo e ,
he e is no p ecise da a o he numbe o people bene i ing om his se ice o he p o i s
esul ing om i (no eceip s). Ano he ee is imposed on all households by municipali ies
pe aining o s ee cleansing and gene al se ices o was e managemen , his 2.5% cha ge is
manda o y ega dless o whe he he household pays o a p i a e con ac o o was e
collec ion o no . As o was e anspo a ion i is poo ly handled ei he by open anspo
ehicles ha sca e was e o h ough he adi ional small ca ehicles. A e collec ion, he
was e is handled, seg ega ed and p ep ocessed by he adi ional was e collec o s mos ly
om he in o mal sec o , his so ing p ocess is ca ied ou on oads o in he collec ion boxes
dis ibu ed on he oads. MSW in Egyp is sepa a ed in o wo ca ego ies: ecyclable ma e ials
wi h economic alue like pape and ca on boxes ha a e sold o ade s and o ganic was e
which is le piled up in he s ee s o is openly bu ned causing pollu ion and me hane
emissions. Land disposal emains he gene al managemen s a egy o MSW, disposal
usually akes place in open dumpsi es ha lack sound heal h and en i onmen al
speci ica ions u ning i in o a g a e sou ce o pollu ion due o was e accumula ion and
subsequen eac ions and umes om he sel -combus ion o was e in hese a eas (EEAA,
2019;Minis y o En i onmen , 2016;Minis y o En i onmen , 2001).
The Egyp ian En i onmen al A ai s Agency (EEAA) se ex ensi e ehabili a ion
equi emen s o public dumpsi es/land ills (loca ion p ope ies, ope a ion equi emen s,
sa e y measu es, da a eco ds and paymen sys em) (Minis y o En i onmen , 2021).
Ne e heless, land ills in Egyp s ill lack he basic sani a y equi emen s and emain a majo
sou ce o pollu ion imposing g a e heal h and en i onmen al p oblems. Fu he mo e, he
lack o public awa eness and guidance o ci izens o adop p ope SWM p ac ices has
esul ed in wa e supplies con amina ion due o he inapp op ia e disposal o solid was e
(SW) in d ains and wa e ways causing se ious en i onmen al p oblems and comp omising
public heal h and na u al esou ces. Addi ionally, s ee cleanness has declined and open
was e incine a ion pollu ion has inc eased (Ib ahim and Mohamed, 2016).
In an e o o enhance he cu en de e io a ing solid was e managemen sys em (SWMS)
some ini ia i es we e ecen ly aken by he go e nmen including a plan execu ed by he
minis y o en i onmen (MoE) o collec he accumula ed was e in some go e no a es like
Alexand ia, Po Said and Ismailia and egula ing he dumpsi es su ounding Cai o o
dec ease sel -combus ion o was e in hese si es (The Minis y o En i onmen , 2018a).
Ano he ini ia i e was he launch o an applica ion called “Dawa ”in some dis ic s in Cai o
o be u he expanded ac oss Egyp ha pe mi s use s o cap u e and upload pic u es o
s ee s con aining was e o allow he applica ion o ind he loca ion h ough global
posi ioning sys em (GPS) and di ec a eam o clean i (Egyp Today, 2018). Ano he ini ia i e
o so was e om he sou ce began in some a eas in Cai o such as 6
h
o Oc obe , and New
Cai o and some ci ies including Alexand ia and Del a. This was e so ing p ocess ca ego izes
was e in o h ee ypes: pape , me al, and plas ic (Hammad, 2019). In addi ion, an elec onic
sys em o was e moni o ing has been applied in Sep embe 2019 by he MoE in se en ci ies:
Cai o, Alexand ia, Gha bia, Giza, Qena, Assiu and Ka El-Sheikh (Egyp Today, 2019).
Mo eo e , a g een na ional ini ia i e was adop ed o dec ease and limi he use o plas ic bags
and o e al e na i es o hem in an a emp o endo se sus ainable de elopmen , con e o a
g een economy and inco po a e sus ainable consump ion and p oduc ion (SCP) in Egyp
(The Minis y o En i onmen , 2018a,2018b). Finally, a go e nmen p og am was se o
imp o e he SWMS o aise was e collec ion, managemen and anspo a ion e iciency o
80% –up om 20% in 2015–and ecycling o 25% by 2030 (The Minis y o
En i onmen , 2018a).
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2.3 Egyp ian was e s a is ics
One o he majo issues ha exace ba e he was e p oblem in he coun y is ha he e is a
huge disc epancy in Egyp ian was e s a is ics (gene a ion, collec ion and disposal a es) as
he was e da a is mos ly inconsis en and de ec i e due o he exis ence o mul iple agencies
wi h a ious calcula ion echniques and he ac ha he e a e no weighing acili ies a
disposal si es and no adi ion o was e sampling and analysis.
Egyp ’s annual o al was es a e es ima ed abou 100 million ons (Fa ag, 2019a). The main
s eams o was e in Egyp a e: ag icul u al was e (34%), cleansing o canals and i iga ion
ne wo ks (28%), MSW (23%), cons uc ion was e (6%) and indus ial was e (5%) (Chemonics
Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018). S a is ics show ha he o al annual MSW has ampli ied
abo e 36% since 2000 wi h an es ima ed 2–3% g ow h pe yea (Minis y o En i onmen ,
2016;Ib ahim and Mohamed, 2016). The a e age gene a ion a e o SW o Egyp ians anges
om 0.3 kg/capi a/day in u al a eas o 1.0 kg/capi a/day in la ge ci ies wi h es ablishmen s
like eso s and ho els ha ing high a es o 1.5 kg/capi a/day (Minis y o En i onmen , 2001).
Acco dingly, he a e age a e o was e gene a ion is 0.67 kg/capi a/day compa ed o he
global a e age o 0.74 kg/capi a/day and he egional a e age o 0.81 kg/capi a/day (Kaza
e al., 2018).
Acco ding o was e s a is ics by he Cen al Agency o Public Mobiliza ion and S a is ics
(CAPMAS) (2018) 87,747 housand on o was e we e disposed o in Egyp in 2018 wi h 4,447
housand ons o was e in Cai o alone. Table 1 shows he quan i ies o was e disposed in 1,000
on be ween 2012–2018. Based on associa ing was e g ow h a es wi h he s eady popula ion
g ow h o 2.5% i can be p edic ed ha MSW eached 89.89 million ons in 2019, 92.137
million ons in 2020 and 94.44 million ons in 2021 wi hou adding he impac o Co id-19
pandemic which will in la e his numbe d as ically.
A ound 65% o MSW in he coun y is gene a ed in u ban a eas and 35% in u al a eas. In
e ms o he e iciency o was e collec ion, i a ies d as ically anging om 90% in high-
income loca ions o 10% in u al a eas (Minis y o En i onmen , 2001). Acco ding o he
CAPMAS a ound 44.8% o households dispose hei was e in he s ee while he emaining
55.2% dispose i by p i a e was e collec o s and companies (Egyp Today, 2018). The e a e a
ew land ills in he capi al o each go e no a e and in some la ge ci ies which a e p ope ly
managed; o he wise, in o mal dumpsi es exis in e e y own and illage in Egyp .
In e ms o collec ion, an a e age 60–69% o he o al MSW gene a ed is collec ed while
he emainde accumula e in s ee s and esiden ial a eas; o he collec ed MSW 10–15% is
ecycled, 7% is compos ed, 7% is disposed in sani a y land ills while he es is disposed in
open dumpsi es o is openly bu ned (Minis y o En i onmen , 2016;Ib ahim and Mohamed,
2016). Egyp has a ound 84 open dumps, 7 unspeci ied land ills and a ound 1,500 in o mal
was e collec ion companies wi h mo e han 360,000 wo ke s who usually wo k in bad
condi ions (Hammad, 2019;Kaza e al., 2018). Acco ding o he Wo ld Bank 1.5% o he g oss
Yea To al quan i ies disposed du ing a yea
2012 79.5
2013 36.4
2014 12.1
2015 17.6
2016 17
2017 21.1
2018 87.7
Sou ce(s): Table de eloped by he au ho s, Da a om Cen al Agency o Public Mobiliza ion and S a is ics
CAPMAS (2019)
Table 1.
Quan i ies o was e
disposed in 1,000 on
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echno-economic
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155
domes ic p oduc (GDP) is los in he coun y (abou $5.7bn a yea ) due o non ecycling and
u iliza ion o was e adding o ha he cos o handling was e and i s en i onmen al impac
(Hammad, 2019).
MSW composi ion in Egyp (na ional a e ages) shows he domina ion o o ganic was e
wi h 55–60%, ollowed by plas ics 13% [1], pape /ca dboa d 10%, glass 4% and me al 2%.
Ru al a eas ha e highe pe cen ages o o ganic was e han u ban a eas a 70–80%, ollowed
by plas ic was e 6%, pape and ca dboa ds 4%, glass 2%, me als 1% and o he s 6%
(Chemonics Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018).
2.4 G eening he solid was e sec o
The analysis o he SW sec o in Egyp e eals he p essing need o be ans o med in o a
g een sec o . Egyp elies hea ily on impo ing ma e ials o indus ies and due o he
loa a ion o he Egyp ian pound he cos o hese impo ed ma e ials ipled since 2015
meanwhile was e p ice ampli ied by an a e age o 30%. This c ea ed a compe i i e
ad an age o he locally ecycled ma e ial compa ed o he impo ed ones which esul ed in
inc easing he demand on ecycled ma e ial (Chemonics Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018).
In addi ion, en i onmen al sus ainabili y was included as a key pilla in Egyp ’s SDS 2030
wi h objec i es o dec ease pollu ion and es ablish an IWMS (The Minis y o
En i onmen , 2018a).
G eening he SW sec o necessi a es ans o ming con en ional SWM p ac ices o p omo e
was e e asion, educ ion, euse, ecycling as well as eco e y. As sugges ed by Elag oudy e al.
(2016) hesigni icanceo ag eenSWMSis ha i willhelp ealizemul ipleSDGsincludinggoal
No. 1: no po e y, goal No. 3: well-being and good heal h; goal No. 8: decen wo k and economic
g ow h; goal No. 7: clean and cheap ene gy, goal No. 11: sus ainable communi ies and ci ies; goal
No. 12: sus ainable p oduc ion and consump ion pa e ns; goal No. 13: clima e ac ion by
mi iga ing he GHGs and goal No. 17: global pa ne ship o sus ainable de elopmen .
Acco dingly, his g eening p ocess necessi a es mo ing away om he business as usual model
o an economically and ecologically easible business model ha s i e o bo h achie ing
economic bene i s h ough changing he ou look ha MSW is a liabili y and ealizing ha i is a
possible esou ce o new economic ac i i ies and job c ea ion while enhancing he en i onmen
and human wellbeing. Acco dingly, a sus ainable SWM con ibu es o he ealiza ion o he
g een economy h ough cons uc ing a ci cula economy wi h minimal amoun o was e and
ha m ul ma e ials. Hence, g eening he SW sec o in Egyp is essen ial o achie e g een g ow h
h ough was e educ ion, esou ce p ese a ion, lowe emissions, e ec i e use o ene gy and
ma e ial, new jobs as well as p o ec ing human heal h. This g eening p ocess can be a ained
h ough ul illing he h ee pilla s o sus ainable de elopmen . Economic sus ainabili y can be
achie ed h ough he o ma ion o new businesses, p oducing seconda y ma e ial, c ea ing mo e
jobs, p o iding a o dable ene gy and minimizing he amoun o was e disposed. Social
sus ainabili y is achie ed h ough ealizing heal hy and sa e wo king condi ions as well as
add essing social ac o s in he sec o like child labo and social p o ec ion. En i onmen al
sus ainabili y o he sec o en ails ha esou ces go h ough a li e cycle analysis o endo se
manu ac u ing o nonhaza dous p oduc s o minimize he amoun o was e gene a ed while
p omo ing sus ainable consump ion and applying s a egies o was e p e en ion.
G eening he Egyp ian was e sec o is no an easy p ocess as i necessi a es business
inno a ion. Gene ally, s a ups and small and medium en e p ises (SMEs) a e mo e
esponsi e han la ge i ms o inno a e. G een businesses a e he embodimen o
sus ainabili y. Since being g een is he new end in en ep eneu ship, en ep eneu s in
Egyp a e becoming inc easingly awa e ha es ablishing eco iendly/g een businesses can
se e he dual pu pose o sol ing en i onmen al issues while enhancing he bo om line
(Chemonics Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018;Egyp Independen , 2016). Acco dingly, he e
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has been a su ge in he es ablishmen o g een s a ups since 2011 in some ields including
was e and wa e managemen , ag icul u e and enewable ene gy. Al hough he e is no
o icial da a on he numbe o i ms in Egyp ha wo k on sol ing en i onmen al issues, i is
es ima ed ha a minimum o 10% o new s a ups a e g een (Egyp Independen , 2016;Cai o
Clima e Talks, 2016).
3. O e iew o was e- o-ene gy in Egyp
In line wi h he was e hie a chy, i eusing and ecycling a e no easible, eco- iendly ene gy
eco e y echniques such as W E a e o be used. In he Egyp ian con ex , he second and nin h
pilla s o he Egyp ian SDS 2030 a e pa icula ly impo an o he de elopmen o he W E
sec o in Egyp as hey demons a e ha wi hin he SDS 2030 ision an inno a i e sec o like he
W E ha p o ides a enewable ene gy sou ce wi h an e icien esou ce managemen ha
p o ec s and enhances en i onmen al quali y is one ha is needed and highly encou aged.
The po en ial o W E applica ion depends on he speci ic economic, social and poli ical
condi ions o he coun y. Middle Income coun ies like Egyp a e cha ac e ized wi h a high
demand o ene gy coupled wi h a high inc ease in was e gene a ion especially MSW wi h
unsus ainable WMS. Acco dingly, W E echnologies ha e a high po en ial i i adhe es o he
needs o he coun y and is suppo ed wi h s ong in es men incen i es and sui able egula o y
amewo k o W E o p ope ly ope a e aking in o accoun ha he selec ion o he W E
echnology depends mainly on he na u e o he was e s eam (Wo ldEne gyCouncil,2016).
By 2050, Egyp plans o aise he sha e o elec ici y om enewables and was e o 55% o
he o al ou pu o ene gy (Hammad, 2019). The in an W E sec o can g ea ly con ibu e in
ealizing his goal. Gi en ha he Egyp ian W E sec o is s ill in i s ini ia ion phase i has o be
endo sed by he go e nmen – h ough p ope egula ions and an enabling en i onmen o
encou age in es men in he sec o .
3.1 Egyp ian was e- o-ene gy egula ions
The W E sec o in Egyp is egula ed by Feed-in-Ta i (FiT) Dec ee No.41 o 2019 which
s ipula ed he a e upon which he Egyp ian go e nmen will pu chase elec ici y om W E
p ojec s ( he mal acili ies, land ill biogas (LFG), and was e wa e ea men sludge). The FiT
has wo a es. Fi s , a a e o 1.4 Egyp ian pound (EGP)/Kilowa -hou (kWh) o elec ici y
p oduced om MSW o LFG sold o he na ional g id. The second a e is 1.03 EGP/kWh o
elec ici y sold o he na ional g id gene a ed om was e wa e ea men plan s sludge. The
FiT is ixed o e a 25-yea con ac held be ween he go e no a e and he W E acili y loca ed
in i . The land o he acili y is alloca ed by he go e no a e on a concession e m o he
du a ion o he elec ici y pu chase ag eemen be ween he go e no a e and he elec ici y
dis ibu ion company. I is s ipula ed ha he go e no a e is esponsible o supplying he
needed quan i y o was e o p oduce elec ici y o he W E company wi h no cos . The FiT
se he o al ins alled capaci y o elec ic powe p oduc ion plan s om W E a 300 megawa
(MW) du ing he i s i e yea s om he dec ee. In addi ion, he s a ion has o ha e a
maximum capaci y o 20 MW and a minimum capaci y o 500 KW o be connec ed o he
medium ol age ne wo k (11 o 22 kilo ol (kV)) wi h he s a ion owne bea ing he cos o
connec ing he s a ion wi h he nea es medium ol age access poin (ARE, 2019;Was e
Managemen Regula o y Au ho i y (WMRA), 2019;Fa ag, 2019a,b).
3.2 A snapsho o was e- o-ene gy s a is ics and cu en p ojec s
Wi h an a e age o 0.67 kilog ams o gene a ed was e pe capi a pe day in Egyp and
h ough he u iliza ion o W E echnologies, his was e could gene a e 7.5 e awa hou s
(TWh) o elec ici y pe day wi h he p ospec o di e ing one o he u mos challenging
Was e- o-
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echno-economic
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157
was e s eams o a use ul use (Nas , 2019;Chemonics Egyp and Clean ech A abia, 2018).
The selec ion o he W E echnology depends mainly on he olume and na u e o he was e
s eam. An impo an de e minan o he amoun o gene a ed ene gy is he calo i ic
alue (CV) o was e, which shows he amoun o ene gy ha can be gene a ed om each ype
o was e (Wo ld Ene gy Council, 2016). Table 2 shows he CV o di e en was e ac ions.
The e a e di e se op ions o u ilizing ene gy om MSW such as dis ic hea ing and
elec ici y. The pape is only conside ing ob aining elec ici y om MSW as Egyp does no
ha e he in as uc u e o connec ing dis ic hea ing. The e o e, he pape calcula ed he
po en ially ob ainable elec ici y om MSW h ough conside ing he physical composi ion o
Egyp ’s MSW ollowing Chen (2018) and Ouda e al. (2017). The po en ial o ene gy eco e y
om was e can be es ima ed using i s CV as ollows:
Ene gy Reco e yðGWh=yÞ¼NCV Mj
kg3W
y3600
Whe e NCV is he ne calo i ic alue/lowe hea ing alue (LHV) in Mega Joule (Mj/kg), W is
he d y weigh o was e ( on/yea ), 3,600 is a con e sion ac o .
Table 3 shows he ene gy eco e y po en ial om each was e s eam. Acco dingly, Egyp
has he po en ial o p oduce 28,060 Gigawa hou s (GWh/y) o elec ici y by u ilizing W E
incine a ion echnologies which is app oxima ely 3.5 imes he amoun o elec ici y p oduced
by he high dam in Aswan.
The W E sec o in Egyp is s ill in i s de eloping s age. Howe e , some small scale W E
plan s a e in ope a ion in he coun y. Fo ins ance, nume ous cemen plan s con e
indus ial and ag icul u al was e in o uel o powe hei plan s (Nas , 2019). In addi ion,
ollowing he cabine app o al o he W E FiT, a numbe o p oposals o cons uc W E
p ojec s we e di ec ed o he minis ies o en i onmen and elec ici y om o eign and A ab
in es o s wi h he alue o $2bn (Fa ag, 2019b).
Was e ac ion GWh/y
Ene gy eco e ed om o ganic was e 31,302
Ene gy eco e ed om pape and ca dboa d 22,359
Ene gy eco e ed om plas ics 63,582
Ene gy eco e ed om glass 0
Ene gy eco e ed om me al 0
Ene gy eco e ed om o he ma e ials 23,057
To al ene gy eco e y po en ial (GWh/y) 140,300
E iciency a e o incine a ion plan s (20%) 28,060
Sou ce(s): Table de eloped by he au ho s
MSW ac ions Ne calo i ic alue (MJ/kg)
Plas ics 35
Tex iles 19
Pape 16
O he ma e ials 11
O ganic ma e ial 4
Glass 0
Me als 0
Sou ce(s): Table de eloped by he au ho s, da a om he Wo ld Ene gy Council (2016) and Haukohl (2016)
Table 3.
Ene gy eco e y
po en ial om each
was e s eam
Table 2.
App oxima e ne
calo i ic alues o
common MSW
ac ions
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Annex 1
Abb e ia ions
BCR Bene i -Cos Ra ios
CAPMAS The Cen al Agency o Public Mobiliza ion and S a is ics in Egyp
CBE Cen al Bank o Egyp
CV Calo i ic Value
EEAA Egyp ian En i onmen al A ai s Agency
FiT Feed-in-Ta i
GWh Gigawa hou s
IBA Incine a o bo om ash
IRR In e nal Ra e o Re u n
IWMS In eg a ed Was e Managemen Sys em
kV kilo ol
kWh Kilowa -hou
LFG Land ill Biogas
LHV Lowe Hea ing Value
MJ Mega Joule
MoE Minis y o En i onmen
MSW Municipal Solid Was e
MWIMU Municipal Was e In eg a ed Managemen Uni s
MW Megawa
NCV Ne Calo i ic Value
NGOs Non-go e nmen al o ganiza ions
NPV Ne P esen Value
PBP Pay-back Pe iod
PPP Public P i a e Pa ne ship
SCP Sus ainable Consump ion and P oduc ion
SDGs Sus ainable De elopmen Goals
SDS 2030 Sus ainable De elopmen S a egy: Egyp ’s Vision 2030
SMEs Small and Medium En e p ises
SW Solid Was e
SWM Solid Was e Managemen
SWMS Solid Was e Managemen Sys em
TPD Tons Pe Day
TWh Te awa Hou s
WMRA Was e Managemen Regula o y Au ho i y
WMS Was e Managemen Sys em
W E Was e- o-Ene gy
Co esponding au ho
Aya Mohamed Sa wa can be con ac ed a : [email p o ec ed]
Fo ins uc ions on how o o de ep in s o his a icle, please isi ou websi e:
www.eme aldg ouppublishing.com/licensing/ ep in s.h m
O con ac us o u he de ails: [email p o ec ed]
Was e- o-
ene gy: a
echno-economic
analysis
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