Meknès Waste Recovery Centre

The Meknès Waste Recovery Center is a landmark project advancing Morocco’s sustainable waste management agenda. Located 5 kilometers from the city of Meknès, the project transformed a 0.25 square kilometers uncontrolled landfill into a modern, integrated waste disposal and treatment facility through a public-private partnership, marking a significant environmental and urban regional milestone.¹

Previously, the site received approximately 185,000 tonnes of waste annually from 650,000 residents, posing serious health, environmental, and local livelihood risks.²
The project envisions the site as a “sustainable recovery facility” aligned with Morocco’s national development targets.³ It aims to convert an illegal and environmentally hazardous dump into an exemplary model of sustainable waste.⁴

Spanning 0.56 square kilometers, the center incorporates advanced technologies to process household waste sustainably and efficiently. Key components include:^{5 6}

• Sorting Hangar (3,000 square meters): Handles 200,000-330,000 tonnes of waste annually, recovering recyclables such as plastics, metals, and paper.
• Composting Area (7,000 m²): Converts green and organic waste into high-quality compost used for agriculture and urban greening.
• Biogas Recovery System: Captures methane from the landfill wells for thermal treatment, with future plans for electricity generation and industrial energy supply.
• Leachate Treatment Facility: Processes up to 56,000 cubic meters of leachate annually using ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and thermal treatment, enabling safe discharge and water reuse.
• Climate Mitigation Measures: Reduces approximately 20,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually through biogas capture and optimized landfill practices.

The project also foregrounds social inclusion by formalizing the role of informal waste pickers. It eliminated child labour and significantly improved working conditions and incomes. A key milestone was the creation of the Attadamoun cooperative, founded by 180 former waste pickers, now formally employed to manage sorting and resale of recyclables.⁷

This formalization process helped recognize their profession with an official “sorter” status and facilitated their full social and economic integration.⁸ The project’s social innovations include:⁹

• Ongoing support throughout the transition to formal employment;
• Mediation and guidance in operative management and market access;
• Training in technical, commercial, accounting, and administrative skills;
• Infrastructure support in essentials, including the construction of operational facilities, such as the sorting hangar, offices, sanitary facilities, storage platforms, and internal roads, and provision of equipment.

The center is operated by the SUEZ Group in partnership with the Municipality of Meknès. Along technical contributions, SUEZ brought international expertise to the design, implementation, and operation of the facility. The project is funded through a blend of municipal public investment and private sector financing.¹⁰