New legislation, funding to combat Morocco's solid waste problem

19/01/2007

Due to demographic growth, rural migration and urban expansion, Morocco is faced with an ongoing solid waste problem. New legislation and government funding aims to solve the issue.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat -- 19/01/07

[Sarah Touahri] Moroccans want to clean up their towns.

Morocco has allocated $4.3 billion, over a 15-year period, for the implementation of a national solid waste programme, Territory Development, Water and Environment Minister Mohamed El Yazghi said Wednesday (January 17th).

The programme envisages launching projects to tackle the waste management problems that have been increased by demographic growth, rural migration and urban expansion.

"This programme is a clear signal from the State to the local authorities, who must put together integrated projects in order to cut back on untreated waste," Yazghi said Wednesday in Rabat. He indicated that the government would redouble its efforts to issue the decrees to enforce the new laws, and that work was under way to establish a national centre for the treatment of hazardous wastes, which will be able to treat up to 120,000 tonnes of industrial and medical wastes annually.

According to government statistics, Morocco produces around 7.5 million tonnes of solid waste per year, of which 6.5 million tonnes are household waste. Nearly 70% of this waste is concentrated in urban areas. Where industrial waste is concerned, Morocco produces around 975,000 tonnes of solid waste per year. Public and private health establishments in Morocco produce around 11,910 tonnes of medical waste per year.

Mohamed Benyahya, head researcher for the Territory Development, Water and Environment ministry, said that solid waste is a gaping sore. Its management, which comes down to area authorities, is not an easy task. Delegating waste collection management is the solution found as part of the public-private partnership. This approach has yielded good results in some towns, but waste management is a problem which still persists according to Benyahya.

Waste recycling can be profitable for private companies. The idea is to be able to work in partnership with the interior minister to organise its collection -- in such a way that towns are fully covered, Benyahya said. It is essential to work at raising awareness among the population and to provide training for the creation of co-operatives for all those collecting refuse in the streets. Dumping waste must be controlled to ensure that there is no contamination of groundwater or nuisance to the neighbourhood.

Jamila Bahrajane, a teacher who lives in Temara, dreams of the day when her district will be clean. "Look how dirty the streets are. There’s waste piling up everywhere. But the dustcart comes round every day, so I can’t understand why the situation isn’t changing. "

Just a few months ago, a gaping hole was found in the legislation dealing with the management of solid waste. The law relating to the management and processing of waste, published in the official bulletin on December 7th 2006, was a major event, in that it aimed to handle this problem with rational, effective means.

"What matters is that this law sets out measures and interim targets so that all operators can bring themselves up to speed and prepare to implement it," Benyahya said.

Residents are already delighted about the adoption of a law which could change their daily lives. Saloua Mazih, a student, says that she dreams of the day when the dumping of waste in public will be controlled and all the towns will be clean.