THE BLACK GARBAGE BAG WAS DANGLED MOMENTARILY BEFORE IT LANDED.

THUD!

There it was - another exclamation mark on the face of the Wadi Degla ‘Protectorate’. I heard the contents rattle with that familiar glassy clang and plasticy ‘thwak’.

What are they ‘protecting’ I wondered?

The right to dump trash? The right to litter indiscriminately? The right to stain the desert landscape with plastics? The right to throw plastic bags into to the wind - to be tangled in shrubs like a turtle flailing in the ocean from the same residue?

What is Wadi Degla? Why does it matter?

A stone’s throw away from Cairo’s Maadi suburb, Wadi Degla is a wide valley with a 50-meter-deep canyon which cuts through 60-million-year-old limestone layers that reveal rare fossils and petrified wood. The main valley floor extends from the protectorate entrance in Maadi south to the lesser utilised Ain Sokhna visitor centre entrance (also where a slot canyon is).

It extends even further beyond but is not accessible by regular vehicles. By foot, jeep or mountain bike only (or horse/camel…). There are numerous canyon off-shoots and side valleys along with three dams spaced several kilometres apart on the main valley floor.

The rugged, rocky walls of the canyon are perfect for climbing and picnicking, and they offer shade during the hot hours of the day. They are littered with caves, varying in size from a few metres to vast expanses you could camp inside of.

Although shy from visitors, Wadi Degla is home to many animals, including mountain deer, (rarely seen), red foxes (a common sight), mountain rabbits, bats, and dozens of species of plants.

Hiking, mountain biking, camping, and cook-outs are all popular activities in Wadi Degla, especially on the weekends.

I visit this 60 square km of desert nearly every weekend, and sometimes even during the week.

I go to feed the many hungry stray dogs that inhabit this area. Clawing and biting their way through plastic bags of garbage is how they survive - on the left over offerings of people who do not care to clean up after themselves.

I feed the dogs so that they rely less on food scraps.

I guess one could argue that the dumpers are doing the dogs a favour.

They have it wrong. The dogs are doing THEM a favour.

But as a result, we now see more dogs being abandoned in the Wadi, with the same wanton emotionless renunciation of responsibility, that people abandon their trash with - after all, isn’t it ALL trash to them? Dogs included?

When I first started coming to the Wadi, the trash was worse. I suppose I could argue some sort of relief should be expressed, as it is indeed difficult - albeit impossible - to keep a protected area clean in a city of 20 million.

Isn’t it?

But some groups of people (such as Eco Egypt) make the effort to clean it up periodically. Also recently, a gate over the first dam access way has prevented vehicles from entering deeper into the Wadi, meaning less trash is being dumped and the focus is contained in a smaller area, which I guess is easier to manage.

At the main gate you pay an entrance fee of 25 EGP. Where does it go? The toilets are dilapidated at the entrance - broken, filthy and stinking; so clearly it does not go towards maintaining that! The public water filter is usually broken, more often than not repaired by one of the hiking groups, - so clearly it also does not go towards that! So what is this fee actually for?

The access way is a vehicle graveyard with broken tuk-tuks, trucks and cars in varying stages of rot, dust-laden and home to dogs who shelter beneath them.

THIS is the grand entrance to Cairo’s nature treasure?

On the way in you also pass by a pit filled with a suspicious looking fluro-green waste liquid, trash and even the bodies of dead dogs. It is beyond believable. If you told me this was the definition of slum I would believe you.

A lone bawab of sorts lives in a tiny hovel no more than 2 x 2 m, along this road. He keeps watch over all the happenings and cheerily bids me a good morning each time I walk by him. I often throw him 100 EGP for which he almost falls on his knees with gratitude. He sees me feeding dogs on the way in, and will always inform me if a dog is unwell, or if a new clutch of puppies has emerged from beneath the rubble. He is part of the trash landscape - almost the same colour in fact; filthy and grimy, I just wish I could offer him a shower.

But he has his place here amongst the discombobulation of the Wadi entrance road.

Tokyo has 37.4 million people crammed into a metro area that should by all manner of reason, see it a living garbage dump. But it isn’t - its pretty spotless. Tokyo has a strict, municipality-based recycling system where residents must separate waste into different categories on specific collection days and use clear bags. Despite being the second-highest city in plastic packaging waste per capita in the world, Tokyo is a world leader in plastic bottle recycling and aims to increase its overall recycling rate and decrease total waste by 2030.

So why can’t Cairo follow suit?

It’s a mindset. Cairo has a massive order-in culture, with people regularly ordering food via Talabat (which is swimming in plastic packaging, wrap, containers, cutlery, straws, cups etc).

Someone I know told me its the Governments responsibility to remove the trash; missing the point entirely about how people actively, mindlessly are contributing to the problem of plastic pollution which makes up 90% of the dumped trash in the city and in the Wadi.

People do not cook at home as much any more, and the order-in culture along with the take-out lifestyle of so many young people these days, is seeing a decline of traditional home-cooking skills. Cook at home = less waste. Nope - too difficult.

Plastic pollution, trash and waste is a DIRECT reflection of how much a society cares for its environment.

Direct! Egypt - supposedly once one of the greatest civilisations on the globe - is swimming in trash. Yet we showcase the great pyramids, the new fancy GEMS, the construction of a new capital, flash coastal subdivisions - yet wherever construction goes, garbage follows. Its like Egypt simply cannot get its act together to find a solution (or doesn’t want to), to the issue.

Drive anywhere in Cairo and you would swear you live in a 24/7 permanent construction zone bordered by a city garbage dump. Out of sight out of mind. Garbage city is an in-your-face reminder of consumption. This amazing area managed by the city’s Zabbaleen; a community of informal recyclers and garbage collectors who handle Cairo's waste through an organic, community-based system. They collect, sort, and process the garbage, with each family often having a specific role or specialisation in the recycling process. Their houses are brimming with trash - it spills out of the windows and doors; a walk through the narrow streets will send a shockwave through your nostrils - so rank is the smell. But women, men and children pick through Cairo’s leftovers, trying to somehow repurpose it for good.

Occassionally I will see the zabbaleen down in the Wadi emptying the over-flowing trash cans. In the wadi an attempt at sorting is evident - with different coloured bin indicating glass, plastic, food waste, and general waste. You wouldn’t know the difference - its ALL dumped into any bin - no order - just an over flowing mass of plastic bottles, bags, takeaway food containers, plastic forks, large water bottles and whatever else they can cram into these things.

The last time I looked in one dust had blanketed its thick pasty layer over everything, inches of it, indicating that nothing had been cleared away for months. Trash accumulated all around the outside. The people who DID obviously care, just gave up.

I suppose it doesn’t occur to them to take their trash home and dispose of it themselves. Too hard.

Pack it in and pack it out. In New Zealand, it’s a criminal offence to litter in a national park with fines of up to $30,000 NZD. We have ‘Leave no Trace’ principles also to guide us.

Here we have the Wadi Degla ‘Protectorate’ - and it seems the original intent has long been cast aside and forgotten.

And yet here it is - etched into stone as some sort of commandment that thalt shalt forget.

I have even seen a portable camping toilet dumped in the Wadi.

That is a true example of valuing Egypt’s ‘national heritage’.

A portable shitter in a protected area.

If nothing screams “DO BETTER!” than this camp toilet dumped in a natural protected area, then I don’t know what hope there is for humanity at all.

It remains there to this day, taking a slow migration across the desert as the winds, or dogs or maybe even people, shove it along the cliff tops. Parts of it disappear. Goodness knows where to but it seems to be getting smaller.

I am always surprised when I see it show up in some random nook in the Wadi. If it was easier to carry and not quite so cumbersome, I would attempt to pack it out.

So, Cairenes come into the area, they bring their carload of BBQ food and they set up their little picnic spots with friends and family. They’re very social, the Egyptians, and it certainly is great to see them come to this space to be in ‘nature’ (somewhere deep inside there must be recognition of this yearning for a less frantic existence). They all park next to each other - blaring their frenetic Egyptian music at each other whilst sending plumes of chicken aroma BBQ smoke into the air. It’s a heady mix of outdoors meets Burger King.

They watch the sun go down in a throng of noise, pack up their cars and leave.

They leave behind anything they did not physically consume.

I even saw a frying pan once left at a BBQ site. Just like the camping toilet - used and left for someone else to bother with.

How do you make an entire culture care enough, that they will clean up after themselves?

As the much anticipated GEMS opens after a long 20 year embryonic period, the preamble preparations saw much scurrying about to present the Giza Pyramids area as spotlessly as possible. This also included moving the main entrance into the more orderly Fayoum Road access, thus thinning out some of the chaos around the Sphinx entrance, but it also saw the area around GEMs being eradicated of trash. Momentarily.

Why not extend that mindset to all of Cairo? Why not show that sense of pride across the entire city?

Why not take us back to the regal days of Agatha Christie when Cairo was once grand? Cared for, loved, honoured.

Why not actually CARE for the place where we live? Why not think ahead about consumption and the impact on the planet?

We consume therefore we are.

It will be the death of us.

I simply cannot understand how people can go to the Wadi to be in nature, and NOT see the terrible state that it is in, and NOT reflect on how it got to be like that, AND then THINK about how they could be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

It’s beyond comprehension. How do we change a well engrained mindset or to just discard the containers of one's consumption?

Here are some potential solutions that Cairo could adopt to address the trash problem in the Wadi Degla Protectorate area:

1. Enhanced Waste Management Infrastructure

Install More Bins: Increase the number of waste bins throughout the protectorate, particularly in high-traffic areas, ensuring they are clearly marked and regularly emptied. But, who by??

2. Community Engagement and Education

Awareness Campaigns: Launch educational campaigns that highlight the importance of preserving natural areas and the impact of littering on wildlife and the ecosystem.
Workshops: Organise workshops that teach residents and visitors about waste reduction, recycling, and sustainable practices. Involve schools.

3. Volunteer Clean-Up Initiatives

Community Clean-Up Days: Host regular community clean-up events where volunteers can come together to collect trash in the protectorate. This fosters a sense of ownership and pride in the area.
Incentives for Participation: Offer rewards or recognition for individuals or groups that participate, such as discounts at local businesses. Join Litterati!

4. Partnerships with Local Organisations

Collaborate with NGOs: Partner with environmental NGOs to leverage their expertise in conservation efforts and community outreach, such as Eco Egypt.
Corporate Sponsorships: Seek sponsorship from local businesses to fund cleanup efforts and educational programs.

5. Strict Enforcement of Littering Laws

Increase Penalties: Implement stricter penalties for littering and illegal dumping, including fines.
Surveillance and Monitoring: Use surveillance (e.g., cameras or patrols) to monitor problem areas and deter littering.

6. Promote Sustainable Practices

Zero-Waste Initiatives: Encourage local businesses and restaurants to adopt zero-waste practices, such as using biodegradable containers and encouraging customers to bring their own bags.
Sustainable Tourism: Promote eco-friendly tourism practices that respect and protect the natural environment.

7. Behavioral Change Campaigns

Social Media Engagement: Use social media platforms to engage the community in discussions about waste management and to share success stories.
Influencer Partnerships: Collaborate with local influencers such as Omar Samra to spread awareness about the importance of keeping the protectorate clean and the impact of individual actions.
Pack in, Pack out: One rule for all. Adopt the Leave No Trace principles.

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