Egypt's Ministry of Local Development and Environment announced on Saturday that the board of the Waste Management Regulatory Authority approved its draft budget for the 2026/2027 fiscal year and reviewed proposals to strengthen oversight of waste management activities. The meeting was chaired by Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad.
On Saturday, the board of Egypt's Waste Management Regulatory Authority approved its draft budget for the 2026/2027 fiscal year. Chaired by Minister Manal Awad, the meeting also reviewed proposals to bolster oversight, including extending licence durations for non-hazardous waste activities and reclassifying them based on operational practices to curb informal operations and reduce environmental harm.
The authority has issued around 2,300 licences for integrated non-hazardous waste management activities to date, the ministry stated. Proposed reforms involve separating licences by waste type to improve data collection, monitoring, and enforcement.
Under the new framework, licensing will encompass collection, transport, and treatment of municipal and industrial waste, as well as agricultural, construction and demolition, and marine-related waste, each with tailored standards. The board examined plans to incorporate sorting and compacting of packaging waste into the non-hazardous system, issuing one-year licences upon meeting technical and legal requirements. Operations will connect to an electronic system for tracking waste flows, enhancing transparency and compliance.
Furthermore, the board approved new rules for calculating licence renewal periods and established fees for environmental impact assessment services related to waste management, strengthening the authority's regulatory capacity.