City within the city: Cairo’s garbage neighborhood and business of waste

Global Business

City within the city: Cairo's garbage neighborhood and business of waste

Waste is a big problem in many African and Asian countries. Rapid population growth, urbanization and rising consumption means controlling waste is not an easy task.

CGTN’s Yasser Hakim reports.

Nearly 20 million people are crammed in Cairo. For decades garbage has been collected using the traditional garbage collector on his donkey before, or small pick up truck these days.

But most people didn’t know where it goes. Most of the litter is gathered in so called the Garbage Neighborhood, on the Muqattam hills in Cairo.

It is a home to over 500,000 people who came from all over Egypt in the last 3 or 4 decades – and they all work as garbage collectors.


Scott Horne discusses the rise of global waste

CGTN’s Rachelle Akuffo spoke to Scott Horne, the president and CEO of the Ryan Group of Consultants, about global solution to the piling waste problem.