Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia
The world is facing climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, significantly impacting lower-middle-income countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, which depend heavily on tourism. Poor waste management, unclear responsibilities, and weak policies contribute to environmental degradation. T...
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2025-02-01
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| author | Julian Wiechert Nour El Houda Chaher Gasser Hassan Abdallah Nassour Michael Nelles |
| author_facet | Julian Wiechert Nour El Houda Chaher Gasser Hassan Abdallah Nassour Michael Nelles |
| author_sort | Julian Wiechert |
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| description | The world is facing climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, significantly impacting lower-middle-income countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, which depend heavily on tourism. Poor waste management, unclear responsibilities, and weak policies contribute to environmental degradation. Tourism, a key economic driver, also increases the problem by high plastic use and waste generation during peak seasons. This study evaluates current waste management practices in Alexandria (Egypt), Essaouira (Morocco), and Hammam Sousse (Tunisia) and proposes improvements using a newly developed “Extended Sector Responsibility” (ESR) model, which introduces an innovative organizational approach to waste management in touristic destinations. Using a combination of desk research, questionnaires, waste sorting analyses, and expert interviews, our research identifies systemic deficiencies. None of the studied locations have formal source separation systems, and waste management heavily depends on the informal sector. Hotels exhibit limited capacity for effective waste practices due to the lack of municipal infrastructure for separate collection. Economic analysis of the ESR model, which involves the establishment of a new waste recovery facility, demonstrates that while such facilities can generate revenue exceeding operational costs under specific scenarios, their long-term viability hinges on additional funding, possibly through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanisms. Although Egypt and Tunisia have EPR legislation, implementation remains inadequate, and Morocco lacks such frameworks. The study emphasizes the critical need for investments in municipal waste management infrastructure, including logistics, sorting, and recycling systems. It also highlights actionable opportunities for the tourism sector to reduce waste by minimizing single-use plastics and food waste. By adopting the ESR model, the tourism sector can play a pivotal role in transitioning to a circular economy, ultimately mitigating environmental impacts and enhancing sustainability in the region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e9ac99edc9f14c619b7e7c3da295cbf6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Recycling |
| spelling | doaj-art-e9ac99edc9f14c619b7e7c3da295cbf62025-08-20T02:18:20ZengMDPI AGRecycling2313-43212025-02-011022910.3390/recycling10020029Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and TunisiaJulian Wiechert0Nour El Houda Chaher1Gasser Hassan2Abdallah Nassour3Michael Nelles4Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus von Liebig Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, GermanyFaculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus von Liebig Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, GermanyComputer Based Engineering Applications Department, Informatics Research Institute (IRI), City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria 21934, EgyptFaculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus von Liebig Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, GermanyFaculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus von Liebig Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, GermanyThe world is facing climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, significantly impacting lower-middle-income countries like Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, which depend heavily on tourism. Poor waste management, unclear responsibilities, and weak policies contribute to environmental degradation. Tourism, a key economic driver, also increases the problem by high plastic use and waste generation during peak seasons. This study evaluates current waste management practices in Alexandria (Egypt), Essaouira (Morocco), and Hammam Sousse (Tunisia) and proposes improvements using a newly developed “Extended Sector Responsibility” (ESR) model, which introduces an innovative organizational approach to waste management in touristic destinations. Using a combination of desk research, questionnaires, waste sorting analyses, and expert interviews, our research identifies systemic deficiencies. None of the studied locations have formal source separation systems, and waste management heavily depends on the informal sector. Hotels exhibit limited capacity for effective waste practices due to the lack of municipal infrastructure for separate collection. Economic analysis of the ESR model, which involves the establishment of a new waste recovery facility, demonstrates that while such facilities can generate revenue exceeding operational costs under specific scenarios, their long-term viability hinges on additional funding, possibly through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mechanisms. Although Egypt and Tunisia have EPR legislation, implementation remains inadequate, and Morocco lacks such frameworks. The study emphasizes the critical need for investments in municipal waste management infrastructure, including logistics, sorting, and recycling systems. It also highlights actionable opportunities for the tourism sector to reduce waste by minimizing single-use plastics and food waste. By adopting the ESR model, the tourism sector can play a pivotal role in transitioning to a circular economy, ultimately mitigating environmental impacts and enhancing sustainability in the region.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/10/2/29circular economysustainable tourismenvironmental pollutionMENA-regionmarine litter |
| spellingShingle | Julian Wiechert Nour El Houda Chaher Gasser Hassan Abdallah Nassour Michael Nelles Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia Recycling circular economy sustainable tourism environmental pollution MENA-region marine litter |
| title | Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia |
| title_full | Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia |
| title_fullStr | Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia |
| title_short | Extended Sector Responsibility—The Tourism Sector as a Driver for Improved Waste Management in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia |
| title_sort | extended sector responsibility the tourism sector as a driver for improved waste management in egypt morocco and tunisia |
| topic | circular economy sustainable tourism environmental pollution MENA-region marine litter |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-4321/10/2/29 |
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