by Xinhua writer Xu Haofu

CAIRO, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Discarded glass bottles are remelted into delicate pendants; scraps from garment factories are woven into weaving rugs and bags; tens of thousands of potato chip wrappers form a football pitch where children run and play.

At the headquarters of the sustainable NGO APE (the Association for the Protection of the Environment) Recycling Center in Cairo, waste is transformed into export-ready products. In the skilled hands of local women, refuse is no longer destined for landfills or incineration but is instead reborn with renewed purpose and value.

The center is located in Cairo's Manshiyat Naser district, previously known for its informal recycling industry. Nestled at the foot of the Mokattam Mountain, most residents here earn their living through garbage collection, forming a crucial part of one of Egypt's largest waste management networks.

"People used to wrinkle their noses at this place," said Bekhit Mettry, APE's public relations manager, referring to the narrow alleys and pungent odor long associated with the area.

"They called us 'Zabaleen,' derived from the Arabic word for garbage. But we prefer 'garbage collectors,'" he told Xinhua. "We want to project a positive image of our community and show that we clean all of Cairo. What we do has real value."

Founded in 1984, APE Egypt is a community-based non-governmental organization. Over the past four decades, it has built a development model centered on recycling, supported by the government, charities, and private partners. The organization provides jobs for local women, education for children, and broader social support.

In APE's textile workshop, women work at manual looms, transforming leftover fabric into vibrant new cloth. The material is then passed to another group, who turn it into tote bags, bed quilts, wall hangings, cushions, weaving rugs and other products for sale.

"We started with just four looms. Now we have 25," said Samia Wadee, 61, who began by operating textile machines and now manages payroll.

"We first recruit unemployed women from the community and provide about three months of training until they master the craft," she said.

Wadee described the workplace as a close-knit community. "I love working here. We come from different religious backgrounds, but we laugh, talk, and support each other like a family," she said.

According to a 2025 statement by Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber Khalil, about 100,000 residents in Manshiyat Naser are engaged in waste sorting and collection, along with 15,000 additional workers. Cairo produces around 24,000 tons of waste daily, with about 8,000 tons recycled in the "Zabaleen area."

"Most of these women used to sort garbage," Mettry said. "We provide skills training and literacy classes to give them more opportunities. Some eventually leave for better-paying jobs, and then we train a new group."

"I enjoy creating things with my hands," said Hanaa Haleem, who has worked at APE for 10 years. "When I want to make something new, I keep trying until I succeed."

She said their designs, often featuring traditional Egyptian patterns, attract special orders from museums and international clients, including a high-end U.S. fashion brand. Some orders number in the hundreds, providing a reliable source of income.

"In most neighborhoods, waste is mixed and requires complex processing," Mettry said. "Here, we work with clean, sorted materials provided by professional local recycling companies, and we produce high-quality goods that can be exported worldwide. I believe that through our efforts, we can also encourage recycling companies in Cairo to further advance their resource recovery technologies."

"Egypt is environmentally vulnerable," he added. "We hope our work encourages more people to see that protecting the environment is part of daily life. It's not just our responsibility -- it belongs to everyone."

(Xinhua correspondents Xin Mengchen, Jiang Haoran in Cairo, also contributed to this story.)