MedCities was in Tunis for the Steering Committee of the A’SIMA Tunis pilot project. This was the first time such a Steering Committee gathered. In total, 24 persons attended the meeting, in mid-May, that took place in La Kasbah, Tunis municipality.

The pilot project consists of a multi-functional centre for waste management with four modules: a recyclable waste collection point, a sorting and selective classification of waste unit, a bulky items management unit and a transfer centre for final waste. Set to be built in El Mourouj Park, the centre is targeting 7 municipalities of the Greater Tunis, namely El Mourouj, Sidi Hessine, Radès, Megrine, Bardo and Ben Arous in addition to Tunis. It aims at improving the sustainable waste management systems in Greater Tunis and enhancing the capacities of the municipalities for its implementation, as per the objective of A’SIMA Tunis component 2.

Feasibility studies are underway, including the environmental, social, institutional and economic impact of such a centre. During the meeting, experts of the consortium introduced their preliminary findings for each dimension of the feasibility study to the municipalities concerned by the project and other key stakeholders such as ANGED (Agence Nationale de Gestion des Déchets – National Agency for Waste Management) and ANPE (Agence Nationale de Protection de l’Environnement – National Agency for Environmental Protection). A time was dedicated to discussing the institutional form that the management of this centre should take. This meeting also enabled participants to give their opinions on several topics, such as the type of waste that this multipurpose eco-centre should or should not accept. The Steering Committee will meet several during the elaboration of the studies to follow-up and validate the results.