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RecycloBekia: Giving New Life to Unwanted Electronics in Egypt
The team that aims to make a quantum leap in the culture of e-waste recycling
RecycloBekia is the first enterprise concerned solely with the collection of electronic waste in Egypt. The company offers green recycling and safe date destruction to combat the hazards of electronic waste along with conserving natural resource
Tanta University students are the masterminds behind RecycloBekia. They were able to turn their novel idea into a viable business plan after winning the first prize in a contest organized by Injaz Egypt - a program that supports start-ups by promoting financial literacy skills and entrepreneurial mind sets.
The idea stemmed from the fact that Egypt overlooks the need for an e-waste management system to protect the environment.
“Most electrical and electronic equipment consists of valuable, recoverable materials including silver, gold, plastic and copper,” Mostafa Hemdan, RecycloBekia CEO, said. “Consequently, recycling these components can save energy and natural resources.”Hemdan explained the disadvantages of piling up electronic waste in landfill sites.
“E-waste consists of toxic and hazardous metals, which rot gradually and - eventually - dissolve into the soil.”“This leads to contaminated water and food, or even worse, some are burned causing pollutant air emissions.”As a result of the absence of electronic recycling factories in Egypt, the company collects, dismantles, filters and sorts the electronic disposal, but then ships it off to factories in Germany to be recycled.
RecycloBekia plans to take electronics recycling to the next level in the near future. “Opening up the first electronic recycling factory in the Middle East and North Africa region is one of our aspirations that would establish a long-term plan for reviving the economy, and open doors to new job opportunities,” Hemdan said confidently.
Al Masri al Yom, Egypt
