Pollution Costs Us 350,000 Jobs

1. How does your department handle household and industrial waste?
HAKIMA EL HAITE.
In Casablanca, we work with the prefecture, the Interior Ministry, the city council, and other departments on a large project to recycle household waste. This ambitious national project will begin in Casablanca and then expand nationwide. For industrial waste, we already partner with cement companies and are working to get other Moroccan businesses involved. Similar to our agreement with three national companies to recycle car batteries, we'll do the same with plastic. We will pay 0.05 dirhams for each 1-liter bottle collected. This recycling project will generate 150 million dirhams, supporting 25,000 families who currently scavenge in landfills. Their living and working conditions will improve as they join the formal sector through cooperatives.

2. What will their job be?
They will collect plastic at the source, not from landfills, for easier recycling. This circular economy based on recovery and recycling creates jobs, protects the environment, keeps the city clean, and safeguards public health. Poorly recycled or contaminated plastic is very harmful to human health. This is just one example.

3. Recycling isn't just for industries; it's also for citizens. How will you involve them? When will we have separate bins?
Separate bins aren't ready yet. It's not due to a lack of commitment from Moroccans, who adapt quickly to new rules. The main problem lies with local authorities, who currently lack the resources to implement a household sorting system requiring four separate bins. However, we'll start a trial in Casablanca with two bins in areas with high recycling potential: hotels, restaurants, gated communities. One bin will be for organic waste, and the other for non-organic waste (cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminum). In poorer neighborhoods, we'll use a barter system: exchanging recyclable waste for household goods and utensils. This will allow waste pickers to earn a living with better working conditions and a formal socio-economic status, with equipment to work with dignity.

4. Is there a planned law on industrial pollution?
Yes! You'll hear about it soon. We're trying to pass standards for indirect discharges in parliament. Previously, there was resistance from industries who wrongly believe that pollution control increases production costs and reduces competitiveness. We're determined to present and defend this bill. The environment is everyone's business and a factor in national competitiveness, economic and social development.

5. What's the cost of not addressing pollution in Morocco?
A joint study by the ministry and the World Bank showed a significant cost: 8% of GDP. A recent update shows pollution now costs 3.7% of GDP. That means 350,000 jobs lost due to pollution. A national strategy aims to create 500,000 jobs to offset these losses. Pollution is costly, and only comprehensive public policies can reduce this. Consider the link between a citizen's illness, an untreated landfill, and an animal grazing there, later consumed by the same citizen. Recycling and recovery are our only way to limit pollution losses, be they financial, health-related, or economic.

Hayat Kamal Idrissi.


Lobservateurdumaroc.info

Published May 28, 2014.

Posted online June 9, 2014.