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Nestled within the bustling metropolis of Cairo lies a district unlike any other – Garbage City.
A place where the pulse of daily life is synched with the rhythm of waste management, the Garbage City stands as a testament to resilience, resourcefulness, and the intricate dynamics of urban living in Egypt. With a population of over 70,000 inhabitants, Garbage City is both a home and a workplace for its residents, who navigate its winding streets lined with mountains of trash to be sorted, transformed, and recycled.
In this comprehensive overview, we'll journey into the heart of Cairo's Garbage City and uncover the layers of this extraordinary district and gain a deeper understanding of its significance.
In this article:
Understanding Cairo's Garbage City
One man's trash is another man's treasure, this famous saying is applied every single day in the Garbage City.
In the eastern Cairo neighborhood of Manshiyat Naser, garbage is omnipresent: littering the streets, stacked in alleyways, loaded into trucks, and even accumulating in the hallways of some homes. The odor of waste is also a constant presence as you walk the narrow streets. The district is commonly named Garbage City but should be called Recycling City as the garbage is constantly on the go, moving from station to station, house to house until fully transformed and re-valued.
This mainly Coptic Christian community dates back to the 1920s, when families migrated from Upper Egypt and set up camp on what was then the outskirts of Cairo, collecting garbage and food waste as feed for their pig farms.
If you are in Cairo, we cannot recommend enough getting in touch with our guide @thegarbage.city on Instagram to book your visit.
View our Instagram reel on the Garbage City below:
The Role of Waste Management
In the 'Garbage City', an intricate and efficient system of waste management takes place. This neighborhood handles more than 14,000 tons of garbage each day, which accounts for about 85% of all the waste produced by the 22 million inhabitants of Cairo. The big volume of waste processed here is a testament to the critical role Manshiyat Naser plays in the city's waste management ecosystem.
The community's involvement in waste management is both comprehensive and collaborative, split in seven distinct stages of recycling: collection, transport, sorting, crushing, washing, processing, and production. Each of these stages requires specialized roles and skills, creating a complex web of employment opportunities. Even more surpising to us, we learned that there are at least eight different jobs associated with every ton of recycled plastic, putting entire families to work. This not only sustains the local economy but also fosters a sense of shared purpose and resilience among the residents. We even saw young children sorting and helping their parents out.
The most valuable material in the district is used plastic. Along with everything in inflation-struck Egypt, the prices of shredded plastic consistently increased in the past years. Washed plastic pellets are particularly coveted for their versatility in manufacturing a wide range of goods. These pellets represent the final, refined product of a rigorous recycling process.
Reflecting on the Garbage City
Long-stigmatized by the Egyptian public, for decades residents were referred to as 'zabaleen', or garbage people. However, with today’s push for a green economy, sustainability, and climate change awareness, many Egyptians are seeing a new value in the residents’ work, changing perceptions of this neighborhood.
From everyday household items to industrial products, the materials processed in Garbage City play a crucial role in the supply chain, emphasizing the far-reaching impact of this district's daily work.
This community is also attracting interest of foreign countries. Since 2020, Swiss-multinational food company Nestlé has been working with residents to collect processed polyethylene terephthalate – one of 100 types of plastic that come through the city – for its recycled PET bottles.
All in all, it seemed clear to us while visiting the 'Garbage City' that it is more than just a neighborhood; it is a vital hub of sustainability in Cairo's waste management landscape. The residents' ability to efficiently recycle and repurpose waste materials exemplifies the potential of community-driven environmental solutions. As they navigate economic challenges and continue to adapt, their efforts remain essential to Cairo's overall waste management strategy, making the 'Garbage City' a model of resilience and resourcefulness.
