In a press release, the ministry recalls that the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal was approved by Morocco and published in the official bulletin No. 4892 on April 19, 2001, through Dahir No. 92-96-1 and regulated by the legislative and organizational texts in force, in particular Law No. 28-00 relating to waste management and their disposal, as well as its implementing texts and Decree No. 587-17-2 relating to the establishment of the conditions and means of importing waste, exporting it and transporting it, through the submission of a file containing several documents determined under this decree.
Following the erroneous data and allegations disseminated in various media outlets and social networks about imported waste, and in particular the comments and criticisms addressed to the administrative and governmental parties that manage the Energy and Environment sectors, and to enlighten public opinion on the import operation that was the subject of the media controversy, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development specifies that the international trade in non-hazardous waste is subject to strong competition between specialized international companies and other players in this sector, in particular with the growing development of recycling and reuse of waste within the framework of green and circular economies.
Morocco is therefore one of the countries that benefit from this international market by importing plastic and ferrous waste and torn rubber wheels in order to recycle them and use them as raw or complementary materials in the industrial and energy sectors (such as the manufacture of pipes for liquid sanitation, drip irrigation, plastic boxes, etc.).
In this context, the number of authorizations issued to companies importing non-hazardous waste for energy or industrial recovery has reached 416 from 2016 to today.
Knowing that Morocco focuses on importing from European countries with high quality systems and tools for sorting and treating waste, which guarantees a product without harmful impact on the environment and the health of citizens, the press release underlines, specifying that Morocco is also considered among the countries with a low rate of imported waste (non-hazardous waste) compared to other countries with the same economic level.
The issuance of permits to import non-hazardous waste is subject to a meticulous and strict administrative procedure, according to the provisions of the aforementioned decree, which requires the mandatory submission of physical and chemical analysis documents and technical sheets of the imported waste and its source, and also requires the opinion of the ministries concerned with the field of use of the waste subject to the authorization request, the favorable response to the request depends on the verification of the need of national industries for such waste as raw or complementary materials or that it is of viable economic feasibility.
In addition, the exploitation and recycling of non-hazardous waste components requires devices supported by advanced technologies to detect and control gas emissions caused by combustion, which helps preserve air quality and not damage the environment and public health.
On the economic and social level, the importation, recycling and recovery of non-hazardous waste are among the concerns of a new generation of economic actors because it is a profitable, inexpensive and environmentally friendly process, and it also strengthens the green and circular dynamics of the country’s economy.
In this context, waste recovery chains concern 13 areas and carry great potential for creating added value for the national economy, such as improving the trade balance and creating more than 9,500 direct and indirect jobs in the steel industries, with the goal of creating at least 60,000 job opportunities by 2030.
Similarly, the recovery of waste and the use of rubber wheels contribute to reducing the energy bill by reducing the volume of foreign currency needed to import fuel with more than 20 dollars per tonne of fossil fuel.
It also helps reduce emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases, so that waste recycling contributes to maintaining air quality compared to the use of fossil energy due to the biomass content, in addition to creating opportunities for the national workforce, including more than 300 direct and indirect jobs in cement plants that recover energy from this waste.
2024-08-28 03:38:29