Solid Waste Management in the Context of a Circular Economy in the MENA Region

Safwat Hemidat,Loubna El Fels,Ouafa Achouri,Mohamed Hafidi,Sherien Elagroudy,Benabbas Chaouki,Isla Hodgkinson,Mostafa Ahmed,Jinyang Guo

doi:10.3390/su14010480

Abstract

Solid waste management in most MENA countries is characterized by lack of planning, improper disposal, inadequate collection services, inappropriate technologies that suit the local conditions and technical requirements, and insufficient funding. Therefore, waste management is mainly limited to collection, transportation, and disposal. As the circular economy has recently been given high priority on the MENA region’s political agenda, all MENA member states are seeking to move away from old-fashioned waste disposal, “waste management”, towards a more intelligent waste treatment, “resource efficiency”. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of national systems for municipal solid waste (MSW) management, and material and energy recovery as an important aspect thereof, in the context of the circular economy in selected countries in the MENA region. Since policy, regulation, and treatment technologies are traditionally connected to MSW management, the focus of this article is twofold. Firstly, it aims to identify the different practices of solid waste management employed in selected MENA region countries and their approaches to embracing the circular economy and, secondly, it examines the extent to which policies and technologies applied play any role in this context. The study revealed that most waste management issues in the countries analyzed appear to be due to political factors and the decentralized nature of waste management with multi-level management and responsibilities. In fact, material and energy recovery in the context of municipal solid waste management does not differ significantly in the countries in the MENA region considered. In most cases, “waste” is still seen as “trouble” rather than a resource. Therefore, a fresh vision on how the solid waste management system can be transformed into a circular economy is required; there is a need for paradigm shift from a linear economy model to a circular-economy model.

Highlights

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region covers an area of more than 15 million square kilometers and has about six percent of the world’s population, equivalent to the population of the EuropeanUnion (EU)
The MENA region is characterized by its dependence on its non-renewable resources
The aim of this study was to identify the different practices and approaches of solid waste management employed in selected MENA region countries, and the extent to which the policies, regulations, and technologies applied play any role in the context of solid waste management and the circular economy

Summary

Introduction

The MENA region covers an area of more than 15 million square kilometers and has about six percent of the world’s population, equivalent to the population of the EuropeanUnion (EU). The MENA region covers an area of more than 15 million square kilometers and has about six percent of the world’s population, equivalent to the population of the European. The total population of the region has increased from about 100 million in 1950 to about 465 million in 2020 [1,2]. The MENA region is characterized by its dependence on its non-renewable resources. It includes 20 countries, with a total population of about 465 million (Table 1). The three smallest countries, Bahrain, Djibouti, and Qatar, each have populations of 1.7 million, 1.0, and 2.9 million, respectively. Republic of Iran, have about 102 and 84 million people, respectively. About half of the population lives in cities [1]

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