Egypt's Minister of State for Environmental Affairs, Maged George, has been promoting rice straw recycling. He announced that 80 manual straw presses will be made available to young people on a hire-purchase plan, whereby buyers will pay in LE80 ($14) monthly instalments over five years.
The move is intended to help overcome the annual rice straw burning problem, the main cause of the seasonal Black Cloud. It is composed of hazardous fumes caused by the burning of rice straw and garbage, as well as by the use of mazote instead of diesel oil in smelters and brick factories. Unless it is recycled, rice straw is a major health and environmental hazard, according to Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) officials.
Most of Egypt's agricultural and animal refuse is used to produce animal feed and fertilisers, but some remains unused.
In addition, the EEAA has provided 180 pressers and 70 tractors to help farmers manage rice straw, while the Ministry of Defence (MOD) offered 1,200 experts, maintenance technicians, and guards. The MOD is also providing 95 tractors of its own, as well as free transport of straw to fertiliser factories.
Al Ahram
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