- Title: Alexandria initiative to promote recycling kicks off
- Date: 7th November 2016
- Summary: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) PEOPLE CROSSING ROAD IN ALEXANDRIA STREET ALEXANDRIA TRAFFIC TWO FLAGS FLYING AT TOP OF BUILDING RECYCLING COLLECTION POINT "COLLECTION CENTRE" WRITTEN IN ARABIC ON RECYCLING BOX IN ALEXANDRIA STREET VARIOUS OF COLLECTION CENTRE MAN DEPOSITING BOTTLE MAN COLLECTING RECEIPT FROM COLLECTION POINT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CEO OF GREEN TEC, AWAD OSMAN, SAYING: "We've set up this collection centre, which is a way to directly engage with the public, who can now bring their empty bottles of juice or shampoo or cans or whatever and we encourage them by giving them a receipt that they can cash for prizes when they collect enough points. The prizes vary from phone credit to children's books." VARIOUS OF WOMAN INSERTING BOTTLES INTO COLLECTION POINT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTOR IN ALEXANDRIA, IRENE, SAYING: "The lid goes here and the bottle goes there. This machine compresses the bottles to shrink them into the smallest size possible, and then they are collected and sent to be recycled." VARIOUS OF COLLECTION CENTRE/RECYCLING POINT ON STREET CHILD INSERTING BOTTLE INTO COLLECTION POINT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) YOUNGER USER OF SERVICE, ADHAM SAID, SAYING: "Every day after drinking a can or water bottle, instead of throwing it on the street, I throw it in here, because they take it and recycle it." SIGN ON COLLECTION CENTER READING (English) and (Arabic): "Recycle For Better Life" SIGN READING (English): "Throw here your PET bottle or CAN" SIGN READING (Arabic): "This is not a garbage can, this is a box to improve life" GREEN TEC LOGO WITH WEBSITE DETAILS ON COLLECTION POINT SIGN READING (Arabic) and (English): "Throw your pet bottles or cans one by one, wait the end of the compacting process and then press the button to receive your eco-bonus on the ticket" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COLLECTION POINT USER, MOHGA ABDULLAH, SAYING: "It will teach people how to sort out their waste; the plastic, the metal, for example, from other materials. It's a new culture that I hope we all learn from. And I hope we change our habits in this area in particular." VARIOUS OF MOHGA ABDULLAH INSERTING BOTTLES INSIDE COLLECTION BOX AND COLLECTING HER RECEIPT VARIOUS OF GROUP DISCUSSING THE INITIATIVE NEXT TO COLLECTION POINT
- Embargoed: 22nd November 2016 11:16
- Keywords: Egypt environment recycling Alexandria initiative
- Location: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
- City: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA00157G0KLX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Green Tec, a company specialising in waste management, has launched an initiative to promote recycling in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria.
The project aims to reduce the governorate's burden of dealing with waste and raise public awareness about environmentally friendly lifestyles.
The purpose of the Green Tec's collection centre is to encourage people to rethink the way in which they deal with waste, said Awad Osman, Green Tech's CEO.
"We've set up this collection centre, which is a way to directly engage with the public, who can now bring their empty bottles of juice or shampoo or cans or whatever and we encourage them by giving them a receipt that they can cash for prizes when they collect enough points. The prizes vary from phone credit to children's books,'' he said.
The prizes also include pots and seeds, Osman said, adding that Green Tec teaches people how to grow the seeds into plants.
A machine inside the collection point compresses the bottles to prepare them for recycling.
"The lid goes here and the bottle goes there. This machine compresses the bottles to shrink them into the smallest size possible, and then they are collected and send to be recycled," said Irene, an environmental inspector in Alexandria.
And people are already making the most of turning their trash into something else.
"Every day after drinking a can or water bottle, instead of throwing it on the street, I throw it in here, because they take it and recycle it," said Adham Said.
The compression process reduces the cost of transportation because instead of one truck carrying 100 kilograms, it can now carry up to 1 tonne.
The initiative also reduces the pressure on using foreign currency to import the raw materials that Egypt does not produce.
Green Tec hopes to expand across the country by building more collection points.
Mohga Abdullah, a user of the service, hopes that recycling culture will catch on in Egypt.
"It will teach people how to sort out their waste; the plastic, the metal, for example, from other materials. It's a new culture that I hope we all learn from. And I hope we change our habits in this area in particular," she said.
The company will, in cooperation with the European Union, begin to set up collection points in schools and universities in Alexandria, to encourage younger people to adopt eco-friendly habits.
With the help of the EU, forty-one collection points will be set up at Alexandria educational facilities.
Green Tec says it is used to import the machines, but now produces them, the CEO said, hoping to build a better future for the next generation of Egyptians. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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