Dr. Yasmine Fouad: Recycling 50% of African waste by 2050

Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy of COP27, launched the "Waste 50 by 2050" initiative, which aims to address the waste management crisis in Africa

She added that Egypt has prepared the Solid Waste Management Initiative for Africa, which aims to recycle 50% of the continent's waste by 2050, where currently only 10% is recycled, which means more health impacts, wasting many jobs, and producing more emissions, especially methane.

The Minister of Environment added that the initiative was prepared through development partners, to achieve an ambitious goal to increase waste recycling, and to include this goal in the continent's Nationally Determined Contributions plan

The minister praised the contributions of development partners, especially the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Program, and the provision of technical support in the preparation of the initiative through experts, linking this issue to reducing the use of plastics, as well as linking it to improving air quality and climate change in the continent, and involving the private sector.

The minister stressed that the period from 2022 to 2050 is a journey of implementation, which requires the development of a clear roadmap for implementation, and the presentation of some results on the ground to partners to be presented at the upcoming COP28 climate conference with real objectives that can be implemented.