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Addressing Waste as a Basis for Regenerative Transformations

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Keywords : regenerative urbanism zero waste, Mit Rahina, climate change, water system, virtual water, Egypt


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Introduction

1Garbage accumulating on the streets in Egypt’s urban and rural areas creates serious problems in terms of hygiene and creates a sense of chaos. One often hears complaints from locals as well as visitors, and these lead to recurrent attempts by the government to address the garbage problem. This is not a new phenomenon (Fahmy 2022). In his book In Quest of Justice, Khaled Fahmy writes about the time of Muhammed Ali, when garbage full of organic waste was associated with bad air and odours. This led authorities to issue orders to continuously remove waste dumps from within the city, in particular from areas close to the Khalig el-Masri Canal. The idea that air quality is impacted by garbage odours and is therefore an important aspect of what is considered a good urban location was pinpointed by other authors (Raymond 1994). Raymond writes about the site selection of the then new city of Cairo. The Fatimid commander sought the help of his advisers, who hung fresh pieces of meat in different locations. The place where the meat stayed fresh the longest was seen as having the best air and as better fit for human life.

2Successive governments were keen to address the city’s solid waste, as is clear from their formal announcements. Increasing negative feedback, particularly from tourists, has led to a recent rise of interest in tackling the issue. In 2020, the House of Parliament issued Law no. 202, which is concerned with solid waste management. According to the law, waste is defined as materials or objects abandoned by their owners in a state in which they either can be recycled or need to be discarded. This waste can be divided into municipal waste, demolition waste, industrial waste, agricultural waste, non-dangerous items and dangerous items. Law 202 introduced new, interesting concepts, such as the extended responsibility of the producer; it also emphasized the integrated management of solid waste and the importance of having a national strategy for this. Whether this strategy will be based on a clear vision to deal with waste remains to be seen.

3After the issuing of Law 202, the Ministry of Planning published a report on the state of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Egypt at the end of 2021. Goal 11 was among the highlighted goals: ‘making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’ (United Nations n.d.). The sixth goal aims at ‘minimizing the negative environmental impact of the individual in cities, including special attention to air quality and municipal waste management by 2030’ (United Nations n.d.). One of the metrics used is the percentage of solid waste collected and recycled in cities compared with the amount of waste generated.

4Solid waste in Egypt is estimated to be 28 million tons a year, and only 62 per cent of it is collected and transported (Ministry of Environment 2019). The ambition is now to increase the proportion of solid waste that is collected and transported to 88 per cent by 2022, which if achieved will be a manifestation of a significant advance in solid waste management. While another estimate (GIZ n.d.) uses different figures to gauge the existing situation and predict yearly increases, it also points to an important fact regarding the organic part of this solid waste, which is estimated to be around 50 per cent on average. Indeed, a recent study (Kamal 2020) showed that organic matter formed more than 60 per cent of solid waste in a rural area south of Giza.

5Accumulated observations from different field studies in Egypt show the clear connection between water use in agriculture for food production and the amount of virtual water that is wasted through organic waste, which is definitely linked to water being wasted directly through drainage.

Understanding Waste Production

6To better understand waste, we need to begin with the two main factors that determine the amount and nature of waste produced in a society: population numbers and their consumption patterns.

7Whether solid or liquid, the amount of waste produced depends on the population and the ways in which it consumes goods. The global population has increased significantly (including in Egypt) since the industrial revolution. The creation of factories in cities required thousands of workers to operate on a daily basis. These new factory workers migrated from nearby rural areas due to the promise of better wages and relatively better living conditions. Yet, particularly in the early decades of the mid-nineteenth century, unprecedented crowdedness ensued. This led to the rapid deterioration of living conditions in cities, which was manifested in the accumulation of garbage along the streets. The deterioration of public health and the spread of cholera necessitated a response. In 1842, a report by Edwin Chadweck discussed the unhealthy environment in which workers and the common population lived. London became ‘the city of dreadful night’ (Chadweck 1842).

8The first response was to establish municipalities with powers to collect and transport garbage. Yet, after John Snow pointed to the connection between polluted drains and water wells, which was confirmed by Louis Pasteur (who identified the germs responsible for contamination), the separation of waste water from fresh water was introduced. City sanitation networks began to be built in Paris.

9In Cairo, Mohamed Ali started to address the cause of bad smells in the areas around the Khalig el-Masri Canal and other seasonal water bodies. He started with filling El Azbakeya Lake and transforming it into a garden during the fourth decade of the nineteenth century. Major transformation happened after the return of Ali Mubarak from his studies in France (Fahmy 2022). During his stay in Paris, he was impressed by the sewage network built under the streets that kept the city’s air fresh and healthy. After he was appointed Minister of Public Works, he focused on the areas thought to cause forms of sickness. He wanted to drain Khalig el-Masri that, during the month after the annual flood, had turned into a stagnant water body and turn the canal into a wide street, which is now known as Port Said street.

Waste and Consumption

10The twelfth SDG addresses sustainable production and consumption. It identifies specific targets for reducing waste, particularly food waste, by half by 2030. It also emphasizes the importance of turning to more responsible and sustainable ways of consumption and production. In the West, the prevalence of the industrial mode of production and the endorsement of capitalism created the significant challenge of overconsumption (Bocock 1993). And, as noted by Monbiot (2020), the average annual increase in consumption rate for the former is around 3 per cent, while the average increase worldwide is 1 per cent.

11Consumption growth and accumulation led to most economies feeding on limited and non-renewable natural resources. After everything is consumed, what remains is dumped. This consumption mode is known as a linear economy.

Waste as a Threat to Life Systems on Earth

12The significant increase in the consumption of non-renewable resources after World War 2 led to a response from the scientific community, starting with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. With the support of the Club of Rome, four MIT scientists authored the historic report The Limits to Growth (Meadows et al. 1972), in which newly emerging computer capabilities were used to model the impact of intensive human activities. The report concluded that humanity was on a very dangerous path, on which the current mode of consumption could lead to a collapse of natural resources and of the human population.

13The alarm sounded by this report required a serious response. One of the first responses was the formation of the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development in 1983, headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland. Its main contribution was to define ‘sustainability’ in the report Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987). This report inspired what came to be known as the ‘millennium goals’. In 2015, the more elaborate SDGs emerged, which outlined detailed targets and measures in order for humanity to live in a way that would not deny future generations their rights to enjoy the earth’s natural resources. Yet, the seventeen SDGs were implicitly presented as being of equal importance to one another.

14Rockström and Sukhdev (n.d.) saw this seemingly equal representation of sustainable goals as misleading and came up with what they called a wedding cake diagram. In this diagram, the base is composed of four goals: water, climate action, life under water and life on land. These four goals represent the state of the earth’s biosphere, on which come goals related to the social aspect of sustainability. The third layer concerns the economic aspect. This diagram emphasizes the vital role of the four goals of the biosphere, without which there is no way to fully address other goals. This important diagram is based on earlier work by Rockström and Sukhdev (2009), in which they identified nine critical planetary boundaries that are crucial for the support of life on earth and without which no one can talk seriously about sustainability.

15Among the many consequences of the wedding cake concept is that one cannot start addressing SDG 11, which deals with sustainable cities, without first addressing the four biosphere goals at the base of the wedding cake. It is not feasible to address solid waste without dealing first with water, climate change and biodiversity. Here, you also cannot separate biodiversity from climate change and the water system.

16Soil microbiologist Walter Jehne argues that we need to stop focusing on emissions when talking about climate change. The emphasis on greenhouse gases (GHGs) alone distorts the reality of climate change, which he understands differently (Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food 2021). His lifelong work focused on the energy flow in nature and on how plants play a major role in regulating the earth’s temperature. As he points out, almost 95 per cent of the energy flow in nature is regulated by the biosphere, where different types of plants enable energy to flow smoothly. The planted soil absorbs solar energy and transports it through water into plants, where transpiration enables excessive heat to be released as water vapour. All this happens while plants absorb carbon dioxide that is transformed into their food. Eventually the water vapour condenses at higher altitudes into clouds and moves so that rain falls on other lands.

17One of the conclusions of Jehne’s work is that for each per cent increase in organic carbon in the soil, an additional 250,000 litres of water can be stored on each hectare of land. This stored water is crucial for fighting drought and increasing resilience to floods. He concludes that restoring the natural system and in particular the water system is our shortest way to regulate heat on earth and combat climate change.

Can Mit Rahina Teach Us Something about Waste (and Biodiversity)?

18Following Jehne, I argue that restoring the flow of water is essential to combat climate change. I am interested in exploring the extent to which this argument is relevant to better understanding and addressing waste management in Egypt. My work over the years in several local contexts, in particular Mit Rahina, might help us investigate this relation.

Figure 1. The Nile river floodplain where Mit Rahina is located.

Image

Source: Hager Mohsen, on a Natgeo map maker.

19From Fall 2018 and until Spring 2021, a team of students and I studied the challenges facing Mit Rahina as well as possible responses to them.1 According to what we had learned previously from Burg Rasheed and El Qusier, we prioritized water systems among the other systems we studied (Cherif 2020; Ragab et al. 2020). The study of water systems included agricultural irrigation and drainage systems, domestic freshwater supply and black water discharge. The photograph in Figure 2 shows part of this water system, where solid waste and liquid waste are being dumped and discharged into the agricultural drain at the centre of the village.

Figure 2. The condition of the drain in Mit Rahina.

Image

Source: Photos by Nabeel El Hady, 2020.

20Our study of the village environment helped us understand it as an open system, where inputs such as domestic water are pumped through the local grid and enter the local system. The local system was understood to have ecological boundaries, such as the riverbank and the edge of the western desert. Other materials are getting out of the system, including waste water (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Domestic waste water in Mit Rahina and its relation to agricultural drainage.

Image

Source: Ragab et al. 2020.

21We furthermore tried to identify the micro- and the meso-scales that impact the conditions of the local system. The Nile river basin was identified as a macro-scale component, out of reach of our student team.

Figure 4. Micro- and meso-maps of water system in Mit Rahina.

Image

Source: Ragab et al. 2020.

22One immediate consequence of this understanding of the water system is the necessity of juxtaposing the challenges of Mit Rahina and those of the Greater Cairo Region (GCR) and the Nile River Valley. Any future thinking about the GCR needs to facilitate the natural flow of water, which is essential for any sustainable and regenerative thinking about the villages in the area and the city as well.

23Even this initial understanding of the village as a complex system that needs to be grasped on multiple levels has important implications for the long-neglected yet crucial relation between city and villages. Interlinkages between the different sizes of urban settlements on the river floodplain are crucial for fully understanding the complex urban situation in Egypt and addressing its impact on the natural environment.

24In our study of the local water system in Mit Rahina, challenges were apparent, including the absence of a public drainage system. This results in people depending on septic tank systems that need to be emptied by truck every two to three weeks. In addition to being costly, this practice also leads to constant leaks into groundwater and the soil. This solution is also detrimental to local fields and the soil, since the local population often has no other solution than to empty its septic loads in a main agricultural drain nearby. This causes even more pollution to the water system, because many farmers use water from the drain to water the crops.

25Another challenge is the unstable water supply in terms of quantity and duration: four informal water treatment stations – using filters without proper health control – provide water to local people. Students estimated that roughly 20 per cent of local freshwater needs are fulfilled by these informal water stations (Cherif 2020). As the main source of these stations is groundwater, and given the leakage from septic tanks, the potential of water contamination is a real hazard. The contaminated agricultural drain water that is used to irrigate crops, even as a secondary resource, also undermines the safety of these cultivated areas.

26The results of our study of the water system in Mit Rahina have been drawn as a Sankey diagram in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Sankey diagram of the local water system in Mit Rahina.

Image

Source: Nabeel El Hady and Ahmed Tarek.

27The findings of our study impressed us because of the large amount of water used to grow agricultural crops and used in other products, such as clothes. Virtual water is a term coined by Allan (1998), which points the amount of water used in the production of certain item, is estimated to be almost eight times as high as domestic water use in Egypt (Wahba, Scott, and Steinberger 2017). Even with the understandable variation between rural and urban areas, this huge difference enables us to better understand the local water system. The interesting point here is that as considerable parts of agricultural and other products end up as waste, a considerable volume of water is being wasted. This is what we need to think about; particularly as virtual water use in Egypt is growing each year (Nikiel and Elfatih 2021).

28Given the limited natural resources, in particular water in Mit Rahina, the only solution to a decline of natural systems is to continue to support the life of animals and people by turning to a regenerative system. In order to enact this transformation, Mit Rahina needs to be understood as a socio-ecological system that will generate zero waste. First, consumption needs to be more efficient in using the available resources. Second, crucial in this transformation is what comes out of the system, or the materials that are being discharged and that are usually seen as waste. Since nature produces no waste, any process that produces waste is not efficient and needs to be rethought. Our ultimate goal is to mimic nature by creating decomposers that break waste down into basic components that can be utilized by other creatures.

29Domestic liquid waste causes direct and indirect pollution to groundwater, soil and agricultural drains. Therefore, it should be given a priority. The lack of drainage systems in most Egyptian villages is caused by many constraints. Decentralized solutions that are ecologically sensitive and save water would be an important step toward a more regenerative water system.

30An additional feature must be taken into account: Egyptian villages’ organic waste composes roughly 60 per cent of the solid waste generated in Egypt. If this amount is used to create soil and fertilizers to help improve deteriorated soil, it would help address waste and make better use of water locally. Studies recommend a strategic turn toward good-quality organic fertilizers. This process is also important to bring back some of the lost biodiversity in the irrigation canals through the ability to plant native trees and plants on their banks. Removing organic waste from drain canals will improve water quality as well as drainage capacity, which is related to local soil quality.

Conclusion

31The amount of goods produced since the industrial revolution is huge. The accelerating increase in consumption of 3 per cent a year worldwide (Monbiot 2020), which is higher than the already high population growth, is putting immense strain on the environment, mainly through the amount of waste accumulated in huge dumps or left on the streets. From this waste, only a fraction is put back into the production cycle, thus causing a massive depletion of the earth’s finite resources. This irresponsible way of life could rapidly lead to a collapse of the natural systems essential to the continuation of life for all creatures, including human beings.

32Unique local ecosystems require a better understanding and metrics. As we know that producing waste is a symptom of malfunctioning local systems, we need to learn from efficient and functioning ecosystems and from how they produce no waste.

33Law 202 seems to adopt ideas that were tested in other contexts but does not address waste properly. The case study of Mit Rahina has enabled us to better understand the challenges facing local socio-ecological systems and could help foster a deeper grasp of how to address waste at the local level.

34In Mit Rahina we tried to build on nature’s plan for recovery, which is based on the continuous flow of materials and energy from production to consumption and, through decomposition, back to production. We listened to farmers complaining about soil salinity and the impact of heatwaves on crop production, among other challenges facing agriculture. This is particularly important as plants are considered the main producers of food in our ecosystems. And we saw that consumption, while not as intensive as in the Western world, had a significant impact on the natural elements. The lack of local decomposition is particularly manifested in domestic waste discharge and the failure of solid waste management, for instance the open burning of waste or its dumping into agricultural drains. We understood Mit Rahina as a socio-ecological system where people could not be separated from other ecosystem elements. Adopting such an understanding is critical for the efficient functioning of natural systems and emphasizes cultural biodiversity, which is essential for the resilience of the system. The notion of a socio-ecological system is important, not only for the better management of natural resources but also to address issues such as equality and inclusivity, which are sometimes overlooked in ecological studies.

35Our water system study for Mit Rahina showed that both liquid domestic waste and solid waste were connected to the water system and needed to be addressed as such. It also enabled us to explore ways to improve the efficiency of the system, starting with waste and focusing on better water quality for both irrigation and domestic use.

36Addressing waste in relation to the water system might help transform food production systems. This concern does not only mean using water more efficiently in terms of quantities but also aims at improving water quality through preventing pollution from reaching underground aquifers and contaminating soil. This will help reduce stresses related to the limited amount of renewable water, improve animal and human health and improve agricultural products’ safety and quality.

37Rural areas are often described as contributing less to climate change than cities. Yet as 86 per cent of water consumption in Egypt goes to agriculture, a finer understanding of climate change puts water at the crux of nature restoration and temperature regulation.

38Local, ecological water treatment can help save water and reduce pollution. The local transformation of organic waste can help create good-value fertilizers, which are crucial for revitalizing deteriorated soil. Egypt is a top consumer of chemicals in agriculture; therefore, addressing this issue is urgent. Organic fertilizers are a credible alternative, particularly if a considerable part can be produced locally. This requires more research but has the potential to pave the way for a much-needed transformation in food production in small farms, which form the majority of agricultural producers in Egypt.

39We need to save a deteriorating nature if we are to save ourselves and other creatures. A shortcut would be to mimic the natural processes that were perfected through millions of years of evolution, thus achieving the fragile balance that supports our existence on earth. Nature-based solutions, which are low-cost and low-tech, are the main recipe that we can use in Egypt. They might help restore nature in the vast areas suffering from significant decline. But this approach is also based on science, which requires access to data and major support for research and experimentation.

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Notes de bas de page

1 During Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, around thirty-five students from different countries attended a class organized at Cairo University’s department of architecture and submitted group term papers that featured thorough analysis and ideas to address the challenges facing Mit Rahina.

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