Ramadan, a month of... waste

In Agadir, the observation is alarming: the garbage cans overflow every day with packaging waste and food remains. These are mainly dishes cooked by the residents for their ftour, and which they have not even consumed. On the ground, the garbage collection trucks and the cleaning agents are active in the different neighborhoods of the city, to collect the household waste. Interviewed by Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, a garbage collector describes the nature of the waste that increases during this month of Ramadan and that families are unable to consume entirely. He cites whole tajines, harira, pancakes like msemmen and baghrir.

According to the explanations of another garbage collector, the quantities of food waste become more important during the Muslim fasting month. According to him, those who throw away these waste are the same ones who complain about their proliferation in the streets. Instead of reviewing their consumption patterns, they accuse the employees of the collection companies of inefficiency, he laments.

During Ramadan, 45.1% of Moroccan families throw away the equivalent of 6 to 51 dollars, or 60 to 500 dirhams, reveal studies by the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published in 2021. According to a report published by the FAO the same year, "each Moroccan throws away 91 kilograms of food per year".