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Can new mobile app help solve Egypt's environmental problems?

A new mobile application aimed at collecting and recycling e-waste may face obstacles in Egypt because of a lack of awareness about the importance of recycling and protecting the environment.
Men look through rubbish in a garbage dump in Zabbaleen in Cairo October 11, 2012. The Zabbaleen, which means "garbage people", have served as informal garbage collectors for approximately the past 70 to 80 years, living in the nicknamed area "Garbage City". Their community has a population of around 20,000 to 30,000, over 90 percent of which are Coptic Christians. For several generations, the Zabbaleen supported themselves by collecting trash door-to-door from residents for little money and they recycle up
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CAIRO — Dr. WEEE is a company that recycles electronic waste using a mobile app for e-waste collection. On March 1, Egyptian entrepreneur Essam Hashem launched the app, which could substantially raise awareness of electronic waste in Egypt. He called his character “Dr. WEEE,” as "WEEE" is the internationally recognized acronym for Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment, which includes cellphones, computers, chargers and batteries.

In 2006, Hashem founded Spear Ink to recycle empty ink cartridges and refurbish and re-manufacture new cartridges.

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