Visit to Giza Fairville lab in Mansheyat Dahshour & Inter-lab exchange on environment and waste issue, May 2025

by Kawkab Tawfik and Cyprien Gudin

One year after the visit to the Giza lab by West Attica, Dakar and London lab[KS1]  in November 2024, Interlab exchange continues. Agnes Deboulet, Scientific Coordinator of the Fairville project and Barbara Lipietz, WP5-Scaling up leader from the Development Planning Unit, UCL visited the Lab on 14 May 2025 as part of the ongoing activities. This post highlights the visit and shares updates on the Fairville Giza lab  direction. The visit consisted of three main components: First, a visit of Mansheyat Dahshour landfills and waste disposals; then a workshop with local residents on environmental challenges, along with a presentation of 4 pilot initiatives on waste collection; and finally, a hybrid workshop session with the West Attica Lab for the development of a counter-manual of co-production.

1^st landfill visit : Canal Landfill

The urban area of Mansheyat Dahshur is bordered to the north by a road and to the east by a Nile canal. It is located on the eastern edge of the city, near the canal, while the rest of the urban area extends westward.

Main canal Landfill, 14 May 2025. Photos : Cyprien Gudin

Romani Badir, former secretary of the Association for Garbage Collectors in Muqattam (Cairo), use this stop to explain collection and recycle organization specific to the zabaleen, the Egyptian term for waste collectors – for more context, see The Visit to Giza Fairville Lab in Cairo & Inter-lab Exchange, November 2024.

Romani is also actively involved in one of the pilot projects. He is sharing expertise through training sessions and helping in establishing connections between the nabasheen (Egyptian term for “scavengers » or waste picker) working in the village and the organized zabbaleen community based in Muqattam Hill, who purchase sorted waste for recycling. By linking collectors in the village directly with recyclers in Mokattam, the number of intermediaries can be reduced, thereby increasing income opportunities for thenabasheenof Mansheyat Dahshour. As part of his workshop, Romani organised a series of visits to zabbaleen recycling infrastructures, each focusing on certain types of waste, previously unexploited, which be collected and valued; this would increase the amount of collectable materials, while simultaneously reducing the volume of uncollected waste dispersed in the surrounding environment and, finally, enhancing income opportunities for waste collectors.

2^nd landfill visit: Schools complex disposal

In the second phase, we moved into the heart of the village. While the first disposal site is relatively far from the center, the second one is in a central location, like many informal, or semi-formal, dump areas in Egypt, it lies in an empty space at the foot of a schools complex and a mosque. Although it is relatively far from residential buildings, it is positioned in an open space unfortunately close to key public spaces and services. 

This disposal site differs from the one near the canal, as it benefits from a built structure intended to contain waste. Among the scattered debris, a solid enclosure with three walls and an open side is visible—intended to hold the waste and make it easier for municipal bulldozers to collect it. However, in practice, waste is deposited not only inside the structure but also all around it : To avoid stepping in the liquid, residents either attempt to throw their bags from a distance or avoid approaching the main trash container altogether, instead discarding their waste three to four meters away from the affected area.

Schools’ complex disposal, April 6, 2025. Photo: Kawkab Tawfik

Workshop with residents on environmental and climate change challenges

After the visit of the two landfills, a workshop on environmental challenges was organized with Mansheyat Dahshour residents and experts/researchers who are working hand in hand for the common interest. It was an opportunity to progress on pilot projects and give a glimpse of the co-production process to the visiting labs.

Workshop with Mansheyat Dahshour residents, 14 May 2025. Photos : Cyprien Gudin

One of the key issues concerns the location of the second random disposal site which causes discomfort, safety and hygiene issues. Parents feel anxious regarding the proximity of their children’s playground and daily route to the school. A debate around solutions appeared. A resident suggested relocating the disposal site and discouraging continued use of the current one by transforming it into an attractive space. This could be achieved by planting trees and creating a kind of public garden, encouraging people to take better care of the area. An other asserts that the presence of the mosque could be an asset in helping to change habits, by asking the imam to remind residents during the sermon not to dump waste inappropriately.

Ahmed Zaaza, a member of Giza Lab, started exploring architectural solutions to make the disposal more efficient in containing appropriately the waste and possible options for its management.

After the discussion around waste management, the topic of agricultural challenge and health diseases was addressed. Recent observations highlight that managing waste areas requires tailored approaches for different types of animals, emphasizing the need for context-sensitive environmental solutions. The local agricultural sector has faced significant challenges, including economic losses in date palm plantations caused by invasive insects likely introduced by storms. Climate change has further exacerbated these issues, leading to reduced crop yields and increased reliance on pesticides and chemical fertilizers as farmers try to maintain productivity.

Water scarcity and declining irrigation quality have negatively impacted crop health, while extreme heat waves have caused premature ripening and spoilage. Several key agricultural products have been affected, with a notable decline in date palm biodiversity—around 60 varieties have disappeared in recent years. This loss represents both an environmental strain and a profound cultural and economic setback for the community. In addition, recent pollution seems to be causing cancers, kidney failure and lung diseases for the children.

Giza Lab – West Attica Lab Workshop for a counter-manual of co-production

Hybrid interlab Workshop, 14 May 2025. Photos : Paloma Anger, Cyprien Gudin

After a presentation of the theoretical framework for a counter-manual of co-production, West Attica Lab provided a short overview of their Lab achievements. The workshop was an opportunity to assess similarities and differences between the two labs. While inequality exists in both contexts, West Attica was able to highlight those relative to ethnic minority.

The shared environmental challenges appear at different scales due to the nature of the waste: Mansheyat Dahshour’s waste is primarily local and consumer-based, whereas the West Attica landfill serves the entire region, including industrial sources. Despite this difference, both labs experience overlapping dynamics between formal and informal waste management systems. They both encounter comparable obstacles: in both contexts, the exclusion and weakening of local communities, along with challenging dynamics with local authorities, hinder the development of effective solutions. Nonetheless, they also share encouraging approaches — including the use of knowledge-sharing initiatives to empower communities and the involvement of children in co-creation processes, with schools serving as key entry points.

Mohammed Kamal (Greenish) provided an in-depth analysis of these challenges, explaining why efforts to formalize informal workers often fail, with particular focus on the situation in Mansheyat Dahshour.  Among the resons of such failure, there is a lack of trust between workers and authorities, often rooted in past experiences of neglect or repression. Furthermore, bureaucratic complexity and rigidity makes formalization processes inaccessible or unattractive to informal workers, adding to that economic disincentives, such as the fear of losing daily income due to taxation or regulatory constraints.

This meeting laid important groundwork for future collaborative research and co-authored projects and provided an opportunity to explore proposed community engagement and dissemination activities.

A new orientation pertaining to nature-based solutions was also brought up by Agnès Deboulet and discussed. The complexity of the garbage issue and the fact that it relates to water and soil pollution, loss of bio-diversity needs to be thought of in order to reaffirm a recovery approach rather than just an continuity in waste production (rather that recycling only, how to get read of plastic?). Promoting a Zero waste approach (and Zero waste events) would be also an excellent show-case.

This visit and the inter-lab exchange have reinforced the importance of collaborative, context-sensitive approaches to addressing complex environmental and social challenges in waste co-management. By bringing together local knowledge, innovative pilot projects, and comparative insights from different regions, the labs are building a foundation for more effective and inclusive solutions. The ongoing dialogue between Mansheyat Dahshour and West Attica highlights both shared struggles and unique conditions, emphasizing the need to tailor interventions to local realities. Moving forward, the strengthened partnerships and emerging research will continue to drive co-produced strategies that not only improve waste management infrastructure but also support community well-being, environmental health, and sustainable livelihoods.