A small Nile Delta village of Mit al-Harun in Egypt, located in some 70 kilometers north of Cairo, is known in the country as the most popular tire rubber recycling hub. Generations that are living here have learned how to manually recycle waste tires that are often seen dumped on the roadsides.

People here wake up early morning and use sharpened knifes as they cut massive scrap tires that are further used as materials for surfacing projects, or as green fuel. In 2016, CCTV Africa paid a visit to Mit al-Harun’s tire recycling workshops.

For the last 4 decades a Mit al-Harun in Egypt has made recycling tires, its core business | Video by CCTV Africa, courtesy of CGNT Africa.

It’s a common thing to see massive trucks loaded with waste tires moving towards this Egyptians village. Once there, the tires will be cut to pieces; iron and steel will be separated and later sent to the factories. Local residents also chop tire rubber into tiny pieces that are further used to power cement kilns at plants. Sometime, waste tires are processed into materials suitable for use in playgrounds development.

However, the local tire recycling have become unstable after the Arab Spring upheaval that took place in 2011 as the state has been driven into economic turmoil. Thus, the village sees imbalanced work – some days there is just too much work, but there are days when no tires arrive for recycling.

43-year-old Mostafa Azab is a resident of the village who creates designed baskets out of various types of scrap tires. To make a basket, a tire is cut in half and shaped into an end product. These merchandize can be used by farmers and laborers. Per day, Mr. Azab can produce over 100 baskets.

Article by Malay Mail.