Unfortunately, recycling in Egypt is not meeting its potential. This could be attributed to the fact that recycling culture is not deeply entrenched in our society, causing many Egyptians to forgo its environmental and economic benefits.
Inspired by this, the Green Pan campaign came to life.
The new cultural, entrepreneurial project is looking to spread its way across Cairo to collect cooking oil from houses and convert it to biodiesel for eco-environmentally purposes.
“We aim to address the notion of cultural cycling and combat one of Egypt’s most crucial problems; shortage of diesel fuel,” Mariam Afify, one of Green Pan campaign’s co-founders, said.
According to Ministry of Petroleum, Egypt needs around 37,000 tones of diesel oil on a daily basis. In the fiscal year 2014/2015, the government’s expenses on petroleum subsidies have reached LE130 billion so far.
Afify added explaining the disadvantages of disposing used oil in an improper way: “Women normally throw old vegetable oil down the drain which negatively affect sewer system and subsequently contaminate drinking water,” she said.
“The idea was always floating around, but it took us quite a while to actually implement it into action,” Ahmed Refaat, another founder of the campaign, said.
In June 2014, the team set up a Facebook page aiming to draw people’s attention to the idea and raise awareness about the positive contribution they could make to the environment with an effortless support, yet a great impact.
“We didn’t want to commit until we plan a tactic that help us to work efficiently and take steady steps towards our objective,” Refaat explained.
Nour al-Assaal, one of the masterminds behind the idea and chemical engineer, designed the campaign’s machinery for the filtration of vegetable oil and production of biodiesel.
And after being certified from the Egyptian Chemistry Administration and revised to meet the international standards applied by the American Society for Testing and Materials, the idea turned from brainstorming process into reality.
Soon after, an application was posted on the campaign’s FB page to collect a data about donators who want to give their old cooking oil, so the team could come to their door to pick it up on the first Friday of every month.
Rafaat perceived the first round that took place in September as “a good start.” The project has moved forward since then with a rapid pace as hundreds of requests were sent in October covering more neighborhoods this time.
Green Pan took its first real step towards success by reaching a deal with a hotel in Hurghada, which employs eco-friendly diesel engines for buses and electricity generators.
The campaign is willing to encourage more people to donate their used oil in the next future through providing a loyalty card where more liters or points are translated into prizes.
For registration and more information, visit Green Pan Camapign FB: https://www.facebook.com/Greenpan.campaign
