Men collect trash after a sit-in in Cairo's Tahrir Square. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]
After breaking his fast at his home in Cairo's Dokki neighbourhood, 27-year-old bank employee Yasin Mahmoud made his way to Musaddaq Street to meet up with 30 of his colleagues.
But Mahmoud and his cohorts were not lounging about and socialising after their evening feast. Instead, he and many other Egyptians went to collect garbage from the streets as per a new government initiative to clean up the country.
Launched on July 26th, the "Clean Homeland" campaign is a part of a 100-day programme introduced by President Mohamed Morsi that focuses on five high-priority issues: security, traffic, fuel, bread and cleanliness.
Morsi spokesperson Dr. Yasser Ali said in a press statement that the nationwide campaign, which has enlisted government executive agencies, organisations, citizens' groups and private institutions, has so far achieved a 60% success rate throughout the country's provinces.
He said 3,000 working groups from both the administrative arm of the state as well as a number of private organisations have participated in the campaign, with some 107,000 individuals volunteering.
Thus far, campaign workers have removed 203,000 tons of construction waste and disposed of 120,000 tons of garbage, Ali said.
According to government statistics, Egypt produces some 20 million tons of municipal waste annually. However, densely-populated Cairo is hit the hardest in terms of garbage accumulation, with some 12,000 tons of garbage produced every day.
Garbage collection became more problematic following the January 25th Revolution in 2011, when street cleaners went on strike to demand improvements in their financial and social conditions. And in April of this year, thousands of workers from the Cairo Cleaning and Beautification Agency went on strike for two weeks.
So far the campaign has succeeded in cleaning up some of the major neighbourhoods in the governorate of Cairo, the agency's president Hafiz Saeed told Egypt's Al-Ahram, with more than 8,000 tons of garbage removed. Also, hundreds of trees were planted along the main roads.
Typically, campaign work begins every day after iftar, running from 7 p.m. until midnight. After the end of Ramadan, the government intends to organise weekly campaigns in co-ordination with civil society organisations to help get rid of the garbage littering Egypt's streets and squares, officials said.
Maj. Gen. Salim Ali, president of the Nasr City district in eastern Cairo, told Al-Shorfa that large quantities of garbage have been removed from most areas in his neighbourhood.
The campaign also includes the general beautification of the city, like trimming trees along the main roads, repainting sidewalks and restoring street lamps, he said.
One of the most positive gains is that the campaign increases citizens' level of awareness and urges them to play an active role in resolving the garbage crisis, he said.
Volunteer Muntasir Abdul Khaliq said anyone can help clean up the country by picking up trash, donating cleaning products and tools, or simply making financial contributions.
"In the end, work is based upon local needs, as each neighbourhood's needs are different. We hope that our personal efforts will provide the seed for a national project to solve the garbage problem in Egypt once and for all," he said.
However, some citizens said that solving the garbage issue requires firm laws and regulations, as well as new institutions.
School teacher Omnia Murad, 35, said she thinks the problem will re-emerge as soon as the campaign is over. She said the next government should institute new laws to regulate waste disposal and garbage recycling while at the same time building an institution that would provide oversight.
Accountant Ahmed Khalil disagrees, saying that improving the conditions of cleaning staff workers and raising the standards of existing institutions are better solutions than legislating new laws or establishing new government bodies, as this process would consume large human and financial resources.
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READER COMMENTS
احمد ابو حسام
2013-3-11
Cleanliness is part of faith.
عيسى الخليفي
2012-9-17
The cleanness of the streets of Cairo is the responsibility of both the government and the people because it is the capital where most of the public state departments are concentrated. So, it is one of the most important cities.
قاسم نصير
2012-9-2
Undoubtedly it is known to all of us that cleanliness is a part of faith and maintaining cleanliness is an inevitable duty incumbent on every individual in the society, whether he was old or young, rich or poor. It is a proof of the country's development and progress. So those in authority have to appoint officials with sufficient qualifications to take care of that issue, especially in the capitals of the countries; because it is known that the capital of the country is its heart, foundation and the focus of visits. The Mayoralty of our ancient capital Baghdad must pay more attention to the cleanliness of its streets, parks and clubs etc, periodically. Such efforts are not supposed to be the duty of only the Mayoralty of Baghdad; they are the responsibility of everyone in the community where cleanliness became an indication of the degree of the civility of the person and his sophistication. For example, taking care of your personal appearance and also taking care of your house, the environment that surrounds you and your entire country are the evidence of your civility and sophistication. The opposite is when you do not pay attention to your personal hygiene and environment…etc. This is a sign of backwardness and abandoning responsibility. It is my personal opinion that the state must enforce the payment of an amount of money by the people who throw garbage and waste in the streets, public places and parks, even if it was not significant, so that they become an example for those thinking to do the same. If the mayoralty of my ancient capital Baghdad focused on hygiene and made it a priority, it will find civilization in all aspects; as many aspects are dependent on this activity. As I have previously mentioned, to make cleanliness among their priorities, so that our ancient country progresses and we progress with her.
شوقي صالح
2012-8-31
They said that Cairo is wonderful with its charm and beauty; it fascinates every viewer with its beauty and it was the graveyard for enemies in the past. Any aggressor who wants to gain from it was buried there. But unfortunately, this great historical city suffer from neglect and its streets are about to ask the officials to collect the garbage everywhere; is there a response?
رقيب جوهر
2012-8-31
Paying attention to cleaning the streets of Cairo is an important and necessary thing to a great extent as Cairo is the capital and the interface of Egypt for every visitor.
رشيد قاهر
2012-8-31
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and it is a reflective image of Egypt in the eyes of the others and in the eyes of its citizens. Therefore, we must take care of its cleanliness and improve it particularly since it contains governmental regions, which represent demographic pressure. Moreover, we must provide solutions and alternatives to resolve this problem and the solution was through the initiative of President Morsy through the 100-day campaign cleanliness leading the awareness of the citizens and their participation by removing the garbage from the streets of Cairo.
شوكت قادر
2012-8-31
It is true the famous quote which says that cleanliness is a pillar of civilization. We must pay attention to the cleanliness of ourselves, our streets and our society. Cairo is a beautiful country and it will be more beautiful with the cleanliness of its streets. We must pay attention to the cleanliness of all the streets and not only at the level of Cairo but this must be extended to all the provinces. Once the campaign of the cleanliness of the streets is launched by an order of the President Mohamed Morsy, the elected President and the unity of the people in order to restore the beauty of the streets again, indeed the cleaning started and so the environmental awareness and the damages caused by the unclean groupings that cause many diseases some of which remained without any treatment until now, otherwise their impact on the individual and on the society as well as on the economy, as it is known that the main sources of income are tourism. The tourists will not come and will not be encouraged only by preserving it and the beautiful scenery of Cairo, the streets of Cairo are beautiful and do not lack more attention to its cleanliness.
عطا
2012-8-31
Cleanliness comes from faith and Cairo is a beautiful country that does only miss the attention to the cleanliness of its streets if it is not for tourism, at least for us.
زاهد
2012-8-30
Cairo is the capital of the Republic of Egypt so it is one of the most important cities in Egypt because it has many institutions and public administrations in it. Also, it is considered as the Egyptian city that has the most density in the population. Moreover, it is the airstrip for many tourists who are visiting Egypt from around the world. Therefore, the cleanliness of Cairo is a national duty that falls on the resident individuals and the government as well.
مناف عادل
2012-8-30
In the Islamic community, there is a great responsibility and importance for the Friday sermons that no one can deny, where the Muslims meet on Friday of every week in the mosques for the Friday prayers and to listen to the sermons of the scholars, the sheikhs and jurists of the Islamic religion. The weekly Friday sermon is a major source of awareness among the Muslims. It plays a role no less important than the role played by the media in society by the press, radio and television. Based on the foregoing, the Friday sermons have great responsibilities in disseminating the preaching among the people against the terrorism and the terrorist groups, and against lawlessness and extremism. The sheikhs and the scholars are giving the speeches in the mosques to guide the people's thinking and to fortify them against the ideas of the terrorism, the vandalism and the extremism that harm the community and the individuals and which also harm Islam and the Muslims everywhere in the world. They now must know for sure who among the Muslims are committing the terrorist crimes. They are the Muslims who are fighting the enemies of their religion under their religious and sectarian viewpoint, but the Islam has forbidden the killing without guilt, as well as it has forbidden the involvement of the religion in the radical and the violent methods that led the people to hate and escape from Islam to other faiths. As such, the hostility and the hatred between them and the Muslims spread. Islam is a religion of ease that calls for the mercy, the forgiveness and the reconciliation between the people and not for the murder, the vandalism and the destruction. It has forbidden the assault on the lives and on the private properties. The Prophet, peace be upon him, was protecting anyone who converts to a religion other than Islam and resides in the Islamic State. Also, all the Muslims went to war to protect their State and everyone residing in it without those non-Muslims who just pay the tribute to be protected.
رعد
2012-8-30
The cleanliness of Cairo’s streets lies on the government and the people together because it is the capital and most of the public administrations of the State are concentrated there. Therefore, it is one of the most important cities.
زبيد الحلواني
2012-8-26
Many of the Egyptian cities suffer from the spread of the garbage everywhere. There is no place in Egypt that is free from the garbage and this embitters the lives of many citizens. Unfortunately, the main cause of the spread of the garbage everywhere is the behavior of citizens themselves. The citizen shoulders the responsibility in the first place about the cleanliness of his area, which is the title of those who live in it. Hence, the initiative that was launched by the new president under the slogan of “A Clean and Garbage-free Home” was good, but it did not succeed because the cleaning companies lifted all the garbage from the streets but everything returned to its normal status because the citizens returned to their normal behavior and got rid of the garbage in the street again. Hence, the government must impose strict fines on all those who try to get rid of the garbage in the street. This fine will make all those who think about getting rid of the garbage think thousand times before doing so. The Egyptian Government should also provide the citizens with suitable places not to give a chance to the people to get rid of the garbage and throw it in the street under the pretext that there are no dedicated place to dispose of the garbage. We are waiting for tangible steps on the part of the government in order to keep Egypt clean and make it a civilized place that is suitable for the history of Egypt.
ابو عبدالرحمن
2012-8-25
The cleaning of the streets of Cairo is the responsibility of the Governor of Cairo. It must be preserved and the cleanliness of the streets must be maintained. It is important for us to make development and progress. Cleanliness is the basis of civilization.
شكور
2012-8-25
The hygiene is from faith and it isa necessity to maintain the health of the environment. Also, hygiene is one of the most important factors in any society to achieve the development and to be described as a sophisticated, civilized and advanced country. Therefore, taking care of the cleanliness of the streets of Cairo, taking away the litter and maintaining their cleanness by taking care of them is a must.
يحيى بدر
2012-8-25
Every society shows its status through the cleanliness of its streets, so we have to pay attention to cleaning the streets of Cairo, taking care of them and always keeping them clean.
سلام عابد
2012-8-23
Islam preaches cleanliness. In fact, one of the basic requirements of the prayer is the cleanliness of the worshipper. The prayer is one of the pillars of the holy Islamic religion. In this respect, Islam preached good body hygiene. It also urged the Muslims to clean their houses as well as the streets. Still more, the hygiene of the Muslim is considered as a part of his or her belief in Allah. Thus, we must pay attention to the cleanliness of all the streets, not only in Cairo but also in all the other provinces. In fact, hygiene has an important impact on all aspects of life such as society and tourism. This sector is an important source of income in the economy. Meanwhile, we should not ignore the aesthetic aspect. Thus, we should hold an organized campaign to clean the streets and the square in Mahroussah. We should also support the initiative of President Mohammed Morsi who called for the cleanliness of streets by collecting litter. This initiative has been a success.
نصري
2012-8-23
The streets of Cairo are viewed as Egypt's civilized façade. Therefore, it is very important for the competent authorities to clean them in order to improve the image of Egypt as a civilized touristic State. In fact, the cleanliness of the streets of the cities promotes the prestige of the country. Egypt should show a good appearance in order to get the position of a civilized country.
عبدالله
2012-8-23
Almost all Egyptians are suffering from the problem of dirtiness of the environment. Therefore, I highlight the importance of taking an interest in cleaning Cairo's streets. Yet, I do not call on the Government to clean the streets of Cairo only, but I also call on every Egyptian citizen to rush to clean his street. At the end, all the streets in Cairo will become clean without suffering and without asking the Government to do it even if some of the burden falls on them but not to the extent of bearing full responsibility. Then, I would like to ask all Egyptians to seek to clean their streets in order to protect themselves against the spread of diseases and epidemics and their negative impact on them as well as against the extent of the suffering from which they are suffering because of these diseases. Therefore, I would like to call on Egyptians to take an interest in their streets and how to protect them in order to protect the environment and to do their utmost in order to maintain this cleanliness even if they have followed the dictum “cleanliness is next to godliness”.
اسكندر
2012-8-23
We do not need to speak about the importance of cleaning streets in Cairo. Egyptian people from all their different high-class and popular neighborhoods are currently suffering from the dirtiness of their streets and the spread of garbage in the streets which leads to the spread of diseases that affect the people. Thus, I alert all the concerned authorities to the importance of the cleanliness of streets and taking an interest in them. I even call on Egyptians to preserve streets more than they do.
نذير
2012-8-23
There is currently no one in Cairo who does not suffer from the issue of garbage in streets or their impact on the spread of various diseases. Therefore, I call on all the concerned officials to clean the streets of Cairo and make more efforts for the sake of Egyptians.
اسماعيل
2012-8-23
Caring for cleanliness is one of the concerns of the developed countries. That is why we should care about cleaning the streets, especially the streets of Cairo, the capital and the heart of Egypt.
قادر حكيم
2012-8-23
It is our duty to raise the awareness of citizen of the importance of cleanliness for the sake of his health and homeland. Among the most important methods to maintain cleanliness is to provide garbage bins in all areas and all streets in Cairo and vehicles for garbage and increasing the number of cleaning workers by increasing their salaries in order hat they become honest in their work because Cairo has many historic places that attract tourists from all over the world. We have to limit the presence of informal settlements and provide clean houses to get rid of pollution as cleanliness affects man's health and protects him from diseases. We also have to put out garbage bins and distribute them correctly. We have to clean and decorate Cairo and pave its streets in order to revive tourism and the economy in Egypt. The cleaning campaigns should start from inside the governorate and extend to the side streets and alleys. The youth’s duty is to form groups and distribute the roles among them and to spread it according to the space of Cairo and its neighborhoods, and to work on raising awareness of the Egyptian citizen to clean his homeland. Cleanliness is the title of progress and civilization and Cairo is the biggest governorate in Egypt according to the population and area; that is why it needs a large number of volunteers in its cleaning campaigns and in raising awareness. This is the role of the youth of Egypt to make Cairo a clean country where tourists come from all over the world.
فواز
2012-8-23
Cairo is full of monuments, so we should care for its cleaning because cleaning is an important method to attract tourists. Tourism is one of the most important sources of income, so we have to take care of cleaning the tourist areas to attract tourists. We have to shed light on the officials because they have to present an honorable form of the good citizen. We cannot forget to talk about the importance of the initiatives of the youth in cleaning the streets of Cairo because these initiatives have positive effects on every part of Cairo.
براء سالم
2012-8-23
We have to start with the large streets, then the small ones, and then the crowded areas. That is the duty of the district heads. Cleaning the streets of Cairo is necessary as it is the face of Egypt for visitors and tourists. Tourism is good for Egypt and the sons of Egypt should join together and participate in cleaning the streets of Cairo. The youth should undertake campaigns to raise the awareness of people of the importance of cleaning by ordinary citizens for the sake of a clean Cairo.
أيمان محمد
2012-8-15
The cleanliness of the streets in Egypt requires the cooperation of citizens with the Government agencies. Indeed, everything depends on the citizens who could have played an active and influential role in supporting the Government’s efforts. The citizens are supposed to put litter in the places assigned to them. Besides, they should inspect their regions and to advise those who throw garbage in the streets to stop doing so since these acts pollute our environment. Thus, they would spread epidemics in the country. Everyone must cooperate in order to make our country a good environment. We want to make the future generations live in a clean country where these is no pollution and no epidemics.
محمد البياع
2012-8-15
Cairo is one of the most wonderful cities in Egypt and it is the capital city of this country. Therefore, Egyptians who live in it must maintain Cairo and the cleanliness of its streets, given that they represent the people living there. Thus, if it is dirty, this proves that its inhabitants are also dirty. All this has become unsuitable after the Revolution. In fact, it is unacceptable that the streets of the country which has fulfilled such a great achievement and comprised such great people who have sacrificed their lives, money and blood would be that dirty. Thus, these youth have to organize hygiene campaigns. In addition, after the formation of the new Government, it has to intensify its efforts in order to keep Cairo streets clean so that we could prove to the world that Egyptians deserve recognition and the success of their revolution. These youth should seek to preserve the success of the revolution and the blood of the martyrs who have sacrificed a lot of things in order to reach the current image of Egypt and to reach this stage. Therefore, the youth must do their utmost to preserve all this and respect these people so that Egypt will appear the first in everything, including hygiene. Indeed, the latter has a lot of benefits, given that it also helps increase the GDP. In this respect, when tourists come to Egypt, they think of nothing except visiting the capital, and this is the case in any country given that the capital is the façade of the country. Thus, if tourists come and find Cairo, the capital of Egypt, dirty, they will agree that the country of the Revolution is also in such a situation, especially as Egypt has sacrificed a lot in order to expose injustice and tyranny. Therefore, we, as Egyptians, will not accept this situation or any other that makes us lose the efforts of these great people. So, we have to preserve Cairo as the capital of the country of the Revolution.
حسين انور
2012-8-15
Surely, we feel good as when we look at the situation in Egypt currently especially after the democratically elected President by a popular vote. For him, it has become very easy to restore the security to the Arab Republic of Egypt which is one of the most secure and safe countries in the world. It is very promising and good news that the Egyptian people are among the smartest people on Earth. They are rather the most majestic in their civilization ever. They have a civilization of seven thousand years that no one will be able to affect their identity or affect the correlation of the Egyptian state. The Egyptian people are one of the most peaceful peoples on Earth.
مجيد علي
2012-8-10
The Egyptian people have elected another President and have become the only party who can choose him, whereas in the past they were facing a big problem in the rotation of power. None of the Arab nations was able to force any dictator who was governing them to cede his seat in favor of another; when they become presidents, they think that it is a position forever and never leave it and monopolize it just for themselves. Does it make sense that a President remains the head of a state for more than 30 years, as if there is nobody else besides him in the Egyptian state who is able to rule it? This way, we have made the extent of the Egyptian people’s suffering extremely clear. Therefore, we call on the new Egyptian government to find quick solutions to all the problems from which Egyptian people have suffered greatly, such as education, health and their problems, and the housing and its difficult problems, and to provide suitable solutions for the Egyptian economy.
عماد احمد عبد
2012-8-7
What are the expected scenarios and analyses regarding drawing the map of Egypt and its future? There is no doubt that the Egyptian Revolution (January 25th) has erupted as a result of long years of the suppression and the social injustice as well as inequality as to the distribution of the resources and the riches to the Egyptians. Certainly, the first demand of all peoples is the achievement of the democracy and the social justice among the individuals of the society, but this will not happen without laying the foundations of the home and law enforcement to all people irrespective of the social status or richness. Internally, there is a need for restoring the security and supporting the security forces to fight all the terrorist operations and acts of sabotage and banditry that aims at intimidating the peaceful citizens and spreading chaos. This would be followed by the reconstruction and organization of the governmental institutions and getting rid of all the obstacles that cripple operation at the full capacity so that the production wheel in this home starting moving and Egypt restores its status as the heart of the Arab world.
جهاد زغلول
2012-8-7
God is sufficient for us, for He is the Best Disposer of affairs against every oppressor! I would also say that what comes around goes around! The Creditor exists, so do what you want, Son of Adam!
محمد عبد الرازق
2012-8-3
Peace be upon you! Happy Ramadan! Best wishes to you every year! First and in short, I would like to thank everyone who shared in the campaign, whether with their efforts or with financial and moral support. Second, I think we have to continue this campaign throughout the year. I suggest that we dedicate one day every 15 days. The school and college students have to take part in one day every 15 days. It should be a working or school day, but set aside for the sake of a Clean Nation Campaign. I think if we adopt this method throughout the year and every year, we will win on multiple levels. 1- Establishing the value of cleanliness in the present and future generations in this country. 2- Supporting our brothers who work as cleaners and making them feel that all of us are united. This is our nation; cleanliness is not just their responsibility. 3- The officials have to take part, i.e. the school principal has to pick up papers off the ground, so that he becomes a role model to the students, not only a supervisor and principal. This supports the principal of equality in the nation. I hope this suggestion will be taken.
محمد شعبان المصري
2012-8-3
May God bless you and have mercy on you, elevate the nation by you, and keep you serving the nation! May God protect you.
فاتنه مسلم
2012-8-2
Well done, Egyptians; God bless you! Cleanliness is faithfulness and is the sign of civilization. Remember the English saying: if each one cleans in front of his house, the whole street is clean!