Waste management and organization law and its executive regulations

Waste Management and Regulation Law and its Executive Regulations

New legal page: Waste Management and Regulation Law and its Executive Regulations

On February 22 of this year, the Official Gazette published the Prime Minister’s Decision No. (722) of 2022 AD issuing the executive regulations for the Waste Management Regulation Law No. (202) of 2020 AD, after a period of anticipation and waiting.

This regulation details the broad lines stipulated in Law (202), and also explains the instructions and procedures that must be followed for the safe disposal of various types of waste, in addition to setting an incentive system; To encourage the private sector to invest in the waste sector, and to set controls for manufacturers to obtain the “green label” on their products.

The Waste Management Regulatory Law placed the responsibility of developing and implementing the national strategy for waste management on the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, while the executive regulations stated the most important objectives of this strategy, which lie in reducing the quantities of generated waste, converting waste into a source of profit, encouraging recycling and reuse operations, and improving the environmental status of various sanitary landfills.

The issue of waste in Egypt

Waste in Egypt has always represented a real problem. Between the absence of a unified legislative framework and the absence of a specific competent authority to regulate waste management and issue the necessary legislation, it has been difficult – if you like, impossible – to develop an effective policy and strategy to organize and monitor everything related to waste during successive decades, or to exploit the great opportunities to benefit from this treasure. Wasted.

Therefore, it must be noted that the Public Cleanliness Law No. (38) of 1967 AD and its amendments,Environmental Law No. (4) of 1994ADand its amendments, and other decisions and legislation have dispersed efforts to organize waste among many parties, and even It may have contributed – unintentionally – to preventing the existence of a unified structure and legal framework that clarifies the responsibilities of institutions, individuals, and work mechanisms in everything related to waste.

The numbers indicate that Egypt produces approximately sixty thousand tons of solid waste on a daily basis, which is a large number – without a doubt – that could represent a huge burden not only on the environment, but on public health and on the national economy, which bears a high cost for the proper disposal of this waste, in the absence of the appropriate and sufficient infrastructure to deal with this amount. Huge.

In view of the above, Egypt suffered from a long era of randomness in the management of this sector, with unorganized collection and disposal of waste, differences in work frameworks from one governorate to another, and the absence of integration between the concerned authorities, in addition to the lack of incentive or support programs for investment in this promising sector.

And since the political administration was sufficiently aware of environmental issues and sustainable development as an integral part of its “Egypt Vision 2030” agenda, the waste file did not escape its attention, and after decades of waiting, in October of the year 2020 AD, Law No. (202) was issued to regulate the process of managing waste of various types throughout the Republic, declaring the beginning of a new page for this file. Importantly, making the Waste Regulatory and Management Agency affiliated with the Ministry of Environment the competent authority for follow-up and implementation.

The importance of Waste Law No. (202) of 2020

The importance of this law lies in setting the regulatory frameworks and legislative structure for the waste management system, which greatly affects many aspects, whether environmental, societal, or economic. On the one hand, waste – especially hazardous waste – can represent an imminent danger to the environment and public health, for example: medical waste or waste. Hazardous industrial.

On the other hand,waste represents a real treasure if its collection, separation, and recycling processes are organized; Therefore, the waste file will play an important role in the Egyptian economy in the coming years, in light of transforming the economy into a sustainable economy while adopting the principle of the circular economy as one of its basic axes. Therefore, the existence of a law regulating all processes related to waste would solve many problems. Such as: weak infrastructure in this sector, and weak profits resulting from recycling and reusing waste. As a result of weak efficiency and lack of centralization.

It is worth noting that the Waste Regulatory and Management Agency is an independent government service agency with a legal personality. It was established pursuant to Prime Minister’s Decision No. (3005) of 2015 and is affiliated with the Ministry of Environment. Pursuant to this decision, this agency replaced the Environmental Affairs Agency in implementing a number of provisions and articles of the executive regulations of the Environmental Law No. (4) of 1994.

Under Law No. (202) of 2020 AD, Resolution No. (3005) was cancelled, and an independent body with the same name was established to replace the previous body. To be concerned with implementing the provisions of this law in terms of organizing and defining roles and responsibilities among the various elements of the system, as well as providing technical and technological support to raise community awareness regarding waste, in addition to submitting proposals regarding developing and updating legislation and laws in a way that serves the interest of this sector, and creating many new investment opportunities; To exploit the great potential of this promising sector.

The new agency is affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, and its mission is focused on three main axes,The first of which:is organizing and monitoring operations related to the management of various types of waste, whilethe second:encourages attracting investments in all fields and activities related to the collection, transportation and recycling of waste. and dispose of them in a safe and healthy manner,And finally: Supporting relations between Egypt and international community organizations in the field of waste, by joining international and regional agreements in this regard.

The most prominent articles of the new law

Law No. (202) of 2020 AD on the organization and management of waste consists of six main sections under which eighty articles fall, representing the legislative structure and legal framework for the waste management system in Egypt.Chapter One: discusses some general provisions and definitions, andChapter discusses The second: The Waste Regulation Management Authority and its powers, while theChapter Three: deals with the general policies and obligations related to waste, and after that non-hazardous waste comes as a titleof the fourth chapter, whilewas designated Fifth for hazardous materials and waste, and finally the penalties for violating the provisions of this law inChapter Six.

Perhaps one of the most prominent features of the Waste Management Regulatory Lawis requiring companies working in the field of non-hazardous waste management to obtain a license from the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, in order to allow them to operate legally, in accordance with Article (29), and according to Article (54) the competent administrative authorities are responsible for issuing trading and management licenses. Integrated hazardous materials and waste, after obtaining the approval of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, as indicated in Article No. (55).

On the other hand, The law, in Article (48) and Article (56) thereof, requires industrial establishments whose activities generate hazardous and non-hazardous wastes to maintain a register called the “Industrial Waste Register,” in which the types and quantities of these wastes, and the places of their generation, are recorded. And how to dispose of them, while updating this register regularly and making it available for inspection, in coordination between the Waste Management Regulatory Authority and the General Authority for Industrial Development, and the executive regulations of this law provide a model for preparing this register.

With regard to municipal waste, pursuant to Article (32) units for the integrated management of municipal waste shall be established in the competent administrative authorities that shall be responsible for the integrated management of municipal waste, and shall have a sufficient number of departments in the departments of cities, centers, neighborhoods, and villages. According to Article (34), these units collect a monthly fee for the services they provide, ranging from Two to forty pounds for residential units, and from thirty to one hundred pounds for independent commercial units and the headquarters of professions and free businesses.

Penalties for violating the provisions of the new law

The new law obliges establishments that generate waste to dispose of it safely. In order to avoid the application of penalties, which include fines ranging between ten thousand and one hundred thousand pounds in the case of unsafe disposal of non-hazardous waste, along with imprisonment in the event of a repeat violation.

As for fines for improper disposal of hazardous waste, they range from one hundred thousand to one million pounds, with imprisonment. This penalty increases in the case of disposal of hazardous waste in waterways. Fines range between five hundred thousand and three million pounds, along with imprisonment.

The articles of the law detail in its sixth section, which deals with penalties, many cases that require a fine, others that require imprisonment, or even both penalties. The amounts of fines and the periods of imprisonment vary according to the type of violation and the extent of its harm to the environment, and whether it is a repeated violation or for the first time. Thus, the new law represents a new line of defense for the environment and a tool for holding accountable everything that harms the interests of this person. Homeland.

Executive Regulations of the Law

Finally – and after a long wait – the executive regulations for the Waste Regulation and Management Law were issued more than a year and a half after the date of issuance of the law. The regulations come in fifty-six articles and eighteen annexes, detailing the executive framework of the waste management system in Egypt, the tasks and responsibilities of individuals and various entities, and the rules regulating waste handling operations. Of all kinds.

The executive regulations of the law come in six sections,The first of them includes some general provisions and general definitions, and an explanation of the implementing agencies and their powers, whilePart Two deals with the administrative and organizational structure of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority, and then comesChapter The third sets general policies and obligations, and detailsChapter Four the provisions and procedures related to non-hazardous waste, including municipal waste, demolition and construction waste, and agricultural and industrial waste, while the regulations are discussed inits fifth chapter Everything related to hazardous materials and waste, and finally comesChapter Sixtitled: Transitional Provisions.

The eighteen annexes to the executive regulations set out the various models stipulated in the law and its executive regulations in its articles, including the model for companies working in the field of non-hazardous waste management, the licensing model for non-hazardous waste management, the environmental record model for intermediate stations for non-hazardous waste, non-hazardous municipal waste treatment facilities, and the environmental model. For sanitary landfills, and a form for registering hazardous materials and waste.

These appendices also detailed the standards for practicing integrated waste management activities of all kinds in a health and environmentally sound manner. They then touched on the requirements and standards for disinfecting contaminated soil, the requirements for the use of empty containers, in addition to the requirements and standards for the disposal of hazardous materials and waste, and the standards for tools and supplies for separation, collection, transportation, and storage of these. Waste.

On the other hand, the annexes to the executive regulations explained how to prepare an industrial waste register, and the procedures for collecting monthly fees for integrated management services for the waste system by the administrative body or its representative, in addition to the periodic model for inventorying waste loads, the model for tracking the disposal of hazardous waste, and the establishments’ plan towards integrated waste management. Industrial.

What is expected from the law and its executive regulations

After issuing the executive regulations for the Waste Management and Organization Law, the legal and regulatory framework will have been completed, marking the beginning of a new era in dealing with the waste sector in Egypt, which in turn places a great responsibility and great expectations on improving and increasing the efficiency of the waste management system and transforming it from a burden into a national wealth.

 We are waiting for the new law and its executive regulations:

– Really integrating private sector companies into the integrated waste management system,, through partnerships with the government sector, and providing a number of benefits and incentives to companies working in the field of integrated waste management, in addition to legalizing the status of companies working in the field of waste informally; To become a key player in the system.

– The effective application of the “Green Mark” system aims to encourage and stimulate manufacturers to expand the use of reusable or recyclable materials, in order to reduce the rates of industrial waste generation. This will certainly motivate and encourage many industrial institutions in various sectors to ensure that their products obtain the Green Mark; To increase its competitive ability by keeping pace with increasing public awareness regarding this issue.

– Real support for new emerging projects in the field of waste treatment and recycling, especially those that use new technology, such as: converting plastic and rubber waste into fuel, extracting metals from electronic waste, etc., by overcoming the difficulties and providing the necessary facilities for these companies, in coordination with various parties, to ensure the continuation of their work with the highest possible efficiency, which will be One of the main responsibilities of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority.

– Establishing a department specialized in all information and data related to the waste sector in Egypt; This department will publish reports and provide the necessary information to show the extent of progress in implementing various strategies, and highlight areas of deficiencies in the system, in addition to facilitating investors’ access to the data necessary to conduct feasibility studies. For various projects in the field of waste organization and management.

In conclusion,The law alone will not be the staff of Moses nor the shirt of Joseph; Therefore, we need concerted efforts from everyone, starting from the individual level by raising awareness and reaching the concerned authorities and large institutions to participate effectively in this system, and to apply the law in an effective and decisive manner, and all of this in pursuit of one goal, which is to raise the status of our dear homeland, and preserve its capabilities and its charming environment that God Almighty has endowed it with many unique characteristics and precious treasures.