In the face of rapid population growth, the management of Municipal Solid Waste in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region is becoming a top priority. In the 5 North African countries alone (Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Morocco) about 42 million tons of waste are produced each year, an amount that is estimated to double by 2050 (Kaza, S, L Yao, P Bhada-Tata and F Van Woerden. 2018. What a Waste 2.0 – A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste. Washington DC: World Bank).
Although separate waste collection is struggling to take off and most waste is still taken to landfills, partly due to the lack of disposal taxes, some positive signs are emerging on the road to green transition. In Egypt’s cement plants, demand for SRF continues to grow, Morocco has adopted a national strategy for sustainable development, and under the leadership of the United Arab Emirates, the entire Middle East is mobilizing to reduce fossil fuel consumption and landfill use.
Therefore, if waste management poses numerous challenges to governmental agendas today, there are also many development opportunities for companies that already have cutting-edge, referenced, reliable, and cost-effective technologies in their portfolios, such as Entsorga.
Given the market potential in the MENA region, Italy’s leading innovative PMI in green technologies has decided to strengthen its position in the Middle East and North Africa and engage Sara Dallasta as Business Developer for this area.
“We are very happy to welcome Sara to the team. Expertise in the field, preparation and a deep understanding of the socio-cultural context of the market make it a valuable resource, which we are certain will bring about a decisive turning point for the development of our company in the MENA region.” commented G. Francesco Galanzino, CEO of Entsorga. “With her, we are ready to take on the challenge of ecological transition in North Africa and help these countries promote more sustainable waste management to improve their quality of life and that of the entire Planet.”
Graduated of Mena Region Studies, Sara Dallasta has extensive experience in business development for the waste management sector in the MENA region. After studying waste management in Egypt firsthand, she joined BioEnergy – a local waste management startup – as a Business Development Manager. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the Technical University of Vienna, focusing her research on promoting the production of CDR (Composite Derived Fuel) in emerging economies. Today, she is the owner of her consulting firm – Dallasta Consulting – based in Cairo, providing sales and business development services for EU technology suppliers and consultancy services for local businesses and government authorities engaged in waste management sectors.
“I am excited about my new partnership with Entsorga because I fully embrace its mission to reduce human impact through the development of innovative technology solutions to turn waste into resources,” says Sara Dallasta, Entsorga Business Developer for MENA. “This is especially urgent in North Africa, the MENA region, and sub-Saharan Africa. Although waste management and recycling are gaining interest from government and investors in the Region, this sector is still new and only partially regulated. Entsorga, with its technology portfolio of patented and scalable systems, has in its DNA the ability to address these challenges and support local operators to help them progressively reduce their reliance on landfill.”
In Egypt, Entsorga has already worked for large cement groups by providing waste refining solutions and systems to feed kilns with SRF, the renewable fuel produced by recovering municipal solid waste. But what primarily distinguishes the Italian company is its over twenty years of experience worldwide in building plants for the management of the entire recovery cycle. An integrated business model, based on high-efficiency and low-impact technologies, makes waste treatment profitable and lucrative, bridging the typical infrastructure gap in these regions with relatively modest investments.
In addition to SRF production and feeding systems for cement factories, for this market Entsorga will focus on Turtle®, patented concrete biocells with breathable sheeting to mature biomass. A modular and flexible biostabilization method, suitable for different types of waste and feasible on site, thus with low costs but with excellent and certified performance.
“Moreover, thanks to the experience accumulated over the years in operating plants,” concludes Sara Dallasta, “Entsorga ensures support to optimize plant management and maintenance. An integrated technological package, therefore, from waste treatment to O&M services, which makes the Italian company the ideal partner to develop turnkey projects. The ideal for countries that are just beginning to approach ecological transition and circular economy principles.”
