Egyptians love to cook. Now the oil leftover by Egypt’s culinary masters can help satisfy an ever-increasing demand for energy, thanks to companies like Recycolife. Bahr converts used cooking oil — along with solid wastes like aluminium, plastics and paper — into high-quality raw materials for local factories. “We believe this is a very important industry in Egypt,” says Bahr.
Egypt wants to make its national energy outlook more sustainable. In recent years, the north African country has relied on fossil fuels to meet up to 95 percent of the energy demanded by its exploding population. The government has invested in wind, solar and hydroelectric plants, and now biofuels may have an important role to play. Cooking oil can be turned into biodiesels, which are capable of fueling motor vehicles. There has been criticism of harvesting crops specifically for producing biofuels, but Recycolife reuses cooking oil that has already been discarded.
Recycolife’s future looks rosy. The business has started turning profits, with a view to investing in can-crushing machinery to make its processes even more efficient. According to Bahr, further growth is limited by the fragmentation of Egypt’s recycling scene, hobbled by unclear government regulations and fighting between waste management companies and informal trash pickers. Undeterred, Recycolife is looking into new avenues for getting Egypt’s recyclers to work together at last.
Sustaining momentum
The dream of making Egypt more sustainable has not strayed far from Bahr’s mind since he was an engineering student a decade ago. “Recycling is my inspiration,” he says. After university, Bahr set about teaching himself more about the practicalities of recycling solid waste, along with the science of making biodiesel.
Bahr received a further boost of confidence from the aftermath of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, during which recycling startups began exploding onto the local scene. He made his own contribution four years later, Recycolife, which gathers paper cartons, aluminium, cooking oil and four different types of plastic from households, schools and restaurants. These processes operate either under formal agreements with an organization, or simply by announcing that Recycolife will hold a public collection on a given day.
With the solid waste gathered, Bahr and his team wash it and then “act like a supplier of raw materials” for industry. Separately, Recycolife treats salvaged cooking oil before turning it over to a local facility that handles the conversion to biodiesel.
Three years in, the business is performing impressively. Recycolife generates decent profits, while Bahr enthuses that these will grow with more investment. For instance, Recycolife would be able to produce higher volumes of raw aluminium if it could purchase an on-site can-crushing machine. “We are always looking for innovation and new ways to help our clients,” he says, adding that Recycolife is also looking to handle more challenging materials like textiles, Tetra Paks and motor engine lubricants.
