CAIRO — The Egyptian state has launched many initiatives since 2013, many of which have faced obstacles and were halted, or have become useless and only served the successive governments by grabbing the media's attention.

This certainly applies to the "Waste Sorting at the Source" initiative, as confirmed to Al-Monitor by sources within the waste collection companies that are part of it. The initiative was launched on March 8, 2014, by the Ministry of Environment to raise awareness among citizens of the need to separate organic waste, which can be used in the production of fertilizer and energy, and solid waste that can be recycled.

The initiative to sort waste also aims to facilitate the recycling attempts by some companies and government-run factories, which have often failed. In Egypt, 27 million tons of waste is produced annually, of which only 90 tons is recycled.

The Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Urban Renewal designed the initiative to establish a firm system for waste collection by contracting companies owned and established by youths in every neighborhood or residential area in the country, and by involving environmental civil society organizations to provide waste-collection services to households.