CLEAN SHARM met with the new SES manager, an important figure in Sharm’s struggle with the ever-expanding amount of garbage: Mr. Ahmed Boghdady knows Sharm since many years and was involved early as a technical advisor for building utilization and recycling. It was him, who made the first outline of how a garbage company can work in Sharm el Sheikh, and he was responsible that the garbage burning in Hay el Nour stopped about 10 years ago.
Some facts and future plans of SES, about which Mr. Ahmed informed us: Sharm Ecological Services, our "pink garbage company" has app. 300 employees, 15 of them working in the office, the rest on the rubbish frontline. 20 compactor trucks, each equipped with 4 people are working two shifts a day to collect the garbage twice a day in all areas, i.e. the cars do a 16 hours service.
At some places it is hard to believe that bins are emptied twice a day, as the containers are overflowing and the areas around them literally covered with rubbish. That is thanks to A. not having yet enough bins, which should change soon according to SES. And B. because unfortunately many people do NOT use the bins and just want to get rid of their garbage ASAP. Trash is just dumped out of one’s hands to the ground next to the bins, even if there is still place inside. The SES workers are instructed to collect also cartons and plastic bags, which are left next to the full bins. However, understandingly there is no time for his employees to clean the ground around the containers each time.
News about the recycling plant:
Currently, all garbage collected in Sharm is dumped in Chanasir, a place in the desert behind the checkpoint on the road to Dahab. A new garbage and recycling plant is already under construction there, and should start to work in the beginning of 2010. Most of the walls of the plant are already up now, and in the end the place will be surrounded by a wall and a 4m high fence. This place is already now the only place in Sharm, where garbage may be legally disposed off. It may (and must!) be used not only by SES, but also by other companies, businesses or private persons.
When the plant is working the waste will be disposed in front of a conveyer band, where the first sorting starts. All the organic waste will be sorted out and is free for the Bedouins, who come and take it from there. The rest of the organic waste will be composted.
The non-organic waste will then be put on conveyors, where water will run to wash it and sorted in 4 steps – from big parts till small. The picking will be done by workers as well as by magnets for the metal pieces and then be pressed. No chemicals will be used in the process. Non re-usable waste will go to the land-fill, as all construction waste should. No garbage will be burned at the plant.
That all sounds good and promising, however we Sharmers may not lean back and wait for others to solve the problem. Even with working in two shifts the current body of SES is obviously not enough to clean all areas in Sharm as they do in Naama Bay. Our regular Clean Ups are more important than ever, to keep the attention up, to raise the awareness of the many people in Sharm, who still regard a dirty surrounding as normal state of life, and last but not least to help SES in their efforts. Therefore on the 10th of October many Sharmers took once again things in their hand – literally- and cleaned up the area around the Ghazia Mall in Hadaba, aided as always by SES workers.
Again Hotels – JAZ group, Tropicana and Grand Azure – were very supportive and send groups of employees to help, a great idea! It was nice to see so many Egyptian and foreign residents helping, even with children, and thanks to big and smaller helpers at least some streets looked better for a little while. Thanks a lot also to everybody who sponsored this event: Sinai Divers, Tavern Bar, Sharm Business Magazine! The next Clean Up will be in Hay el Nour, on November 7, 15.30 starting point in front of the Church.
More details on info@cleansharm.org
More info: www.cleansharm.org