The national meeting on the environment and circular economy will be held on December 25 in Algiers, said, Thursday, the Minister of Environment and Renewable Energies, Fatima Zohra Zerouati.
These meetings are part of a series of events organized by the Ministry of the Environment and Renewable Energy to raise awareness of the dangers of waste, especially plastic one and the need to value them in the context of the circular economy which is based on the recycling of different types of waste, said Ms. Zerouatit during a plenary session at the Council of the Nation devoted to oral questions, chaired by Mr. Abdelkader Bensalah.
In response to a question from a member of the National Council on waste accumulation and its impact on the environment and health, the Minister acknowledged the gravity of the situation, noting that the average consumption of plastic bags in Algeria is 180 bags / person per year.
The fight against this phenomenon must begin with the awareness of the citizen through media campaigns and activities on the ground, added the minister.
Among the volunteer activities that the sector is initiating, the minister cited the caravan of the green city that she personally oversaw with parliamentarians, artists and influential people in society and which has traveled through several provinces of the country, welcoming, in this regard, the beach cleaning campaign initiated by diving clubs under the auspices of UN experts.
The minister also cited the distribution campaign, through several provinces, of the basket made from natural products, in collaboration with local authorities, expressing her wish that this basket gradually replace the plastic bag, which will reduce the plastic pollution.
In addition, the Minister welcomed the decision of the Ministry of Commerce to ban the import of plastic bags, proposing to oblige producers of plastic materials to pay taxes whose revenues contribute to the financing of operations against the plastic pollution.
On the economic front, Ms. Zerouati underlined her dedication to making waste a recyclable raw material, which will encourage investment in waste collection, sorting and recycling.
Recalling that its ministerial department seeks to attract and support producers and young people wishing to invest in this area, the minister said that several meetings were held with officials of the National Agency for Investment and Development (ANDI), the National Youth Employment Support Agency (ANSEJ), the National Center for Business Registrationb and the National Unemployment Insurance Fund (CNAC) to guide future investors towards investment in waste recovery . In this regard, she stressed that banks should support this type of investment.
Emphasizing the need to provide incentives for recycling, Zerouati referred to the Hamici technical landfill in Algiers, which has a machine that can recycle 250 kg of plastic bags / hour, or 250 tons / day.
In addition, the Minister emphasized the need to encourage the cardboard bag industry to replace plastic bags, especially in supermarkets, noting that some traders and investors are using these eco bags.
Ms. Zerouati added that her ministerial department is currently adopting an ambitious policy based on the orientations of the national plan for the environment and sustainable development, in collaboration with all the active forces of society.
An Algerian news website aims at covering all the country’s territory through providing objective and positive image, focusing the most on breaking news.
A dynamic team is working on feeding the website by credible information in all fields of life; a reliable network composed of specialized elements working in harmony with our team in Algiers, the website’s headquarter, provides us more coverage and simultaneity.
“English” is what makes us different in Algeria and ranks us first too not only as a news website; English also makes it simple and fast for Anglophone world to discover our country.
