Moroccan Energy Minister’s Decision to Import European Waste Sparks Anger from Environmental Activists
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An environmental coalition in Morocco has called on the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, to reverse the decision to authorize the import of European waste and not to turn the Kingdom into a dumping ground for European countries.
In a statement, the “Environmental Assembly of Northern Morocco” criticized “Benali’s decision to authorize the import of more than two and a half million tons of rubber tires and household waste from European countries, in contradiction with the spirit of citizenship and its mission to preserve what remains of the environmental dignity of citizens who are in dire need of computer systems, industrial, agricultural, medical and economic technologies that contribute to prosperity and improve their standard of living instead of importing European waste and leftovers that deplete resources. Moroccan environmental system.
The environmental organization considered the decision contrary to the Constitution, which stipulates the citizen’s right to live in a healthy environment, as well as to the laws and strategies adopted by Morocco to preserve the environment, the sustainable development model and a fair energy transition.
The environmental group expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision to import waste despite the legal arsenal that guarantees the good health of the citizen and improves the standard of living of the population, and despite the negative effects on the environment and the health of citizens, air pollution and the emission of toxic gases and greenhouse gases that cause climate change, in addition to radioactive waste, stressing that burning rubber wheels to produce energy is an environmentally unfriendly method and contributes to air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, the cause of climate change.
The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development had previously announced the import of 548,000 tonnes of waste from industrial acceleration zones between 2021 and 2023, specifying that the total quantity authorized for import amounts to 1.24 million tonnes of rubber wheels, and 17,024 tonnes of other non-hazardous waste related to household waste.
