Recyclers in Tunisia struggling to tackle plastic waste – Report

By Omotayo Edubi

For a country that produces 2.6 million tonnes of waste each year, recycling is almost absent in Tunisia.

According to a Tunisian waste management expert, Walim Merdaci 85 percent of waste up in landfills, while much of the rest ends up in informal dumps, with many facilities close to overflowing and neighbouring communities up in arms, the crisis is already fueling unrest.

“In November, a man died as security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters demanding the closure of a stinking landfill they say has spread deadly diseases and health problems to their town of Agareb, near second city Sfax”.

Chaabane said it is a worrying sign of things to come as most of the country’s 11 official dumping grounds are due for closure by the end of 2022 and authorities are still scrambling to find new sites.

“In the capital Tunis, home to about 2.7 million people, the situation is particularly urgent the Bordj Chakir dump, Tunisia’s biggest, receives more than 3,000 tonnes of rubbish a day and is close to overflowing”.

He says urgent solutions are needed, and adds that incineration was “the best option for cities” if clean energy is used but that option would not come cheaply, with incinerators costing some $280 million each.

Chaabane says urgent solutions are needed, and adds that incineration was “the best option for cities” if clean energy is used.