The Egyptian Ministry of Environment announced Tuesday the disposal of 470 tons of toxic and high-risk wastes that had been stored and abandoned in the city of Al-Saff in Giza governorate for 30 years.
In detail, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad announced the safe disposal of 470 tons of high-risk pesticides, which were stored and abandoned in a store at the Al-Saff area of Giza.
She pointed out that the ministry was interested in getting rid of high-risk stored pesticides and securing their storage until they are disposed of to ensure the safety of citizens in the area.
She also explained during a ceremony organized by the ministry, Tuesday, that these pesticides and hazardous materials have been a time bomb for 30 years, adding that the ministry is working hard on the issue of hasards wastes with other ministries , including the Ministry of Communications regarding the safe disposal of electronic waste, the Ministry of Health for safe disposal of medical waste, the Ministry of Electricity to dispose of some electrical transformer oils, and dispose of the remaining part of pesticides in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture.
The minister confirmed that all the waste resulting from this operation was disposed of and transported to burn outside Egypt in private ovens in Sweden and France, and the store was completely cleared.
"Agricultural pesticides"
For his part, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, chairman of the pesticides committee in the Ministry of Agriculture, revealed that these wastes are agricultural pesticides that Egypt has stopped importing since 1972, but as a result of the accumulation of these pollutants and the indiscriminate use of these pollutants over the years it was necessary to safely and completely dispose of them to achieve environmental balance and preserve human and animal health, stressing that the remaining quantity of these pollutants, which amounts to about 300 tons, will be finally disposed of.
Three years ago, the ministry of environment signed a contract to refill, ship and safe disposal of 220 tons of high-risk, banned pesticides stored in the Port of Al-Adabiya in Suez since 1998.
In addition, the ministry said it plans to safely dispose of 1,000 tons of banned and expired pesticides, including 220 tons at the Port of Al-adabiya in Suez, 430 tons in the Al-Saff area of Giza and 350 tons in other areas