Morocco’s mounting household waste — growing alongside urbanization and population pressures — is placing unprecedented strain on its environment and waste infrastructure. In response, the government has unveiled the National Household Waste Recovery Plan (2024–2025), a 1.88 billion dirham (€180 million) programme designed to modernize the sector, replace poorly regulated practices, and embed circular economy principles across the country’s waste value chain.
The plan, presented by Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Leila Benali, seeks to professionalize domestic waste collection to achieve 100% coverage and expand technical support to municipalities. The targets include 50 provincial waste disposal and recovery centers, the closure of 233 uncontrolled landfills, and enhanced sorting systems backed by state funding. The initiative builds on the 2019 National Waste Reduction and Recovery Strategy, which set 2030 objectives of recycling 20% of household waste, recovering 10% for energy, and eliminating 60% of construction and demolition waste under controlled conditions.
Implementation will be led by the Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with regional authorities. A formal governance framework signed in December 2024 between the energy ministry, the interior ministry, and Morocco’s 12 regions enables municipalities to establish selective collection systems with national financial backing. While this represents a significant step toward structured governance, experts note that weak local capacity, diffuse accountability, and funding constraints could undermine execution — particularly in under-resourced rural areas.
A key component of the plan is the energy recovery of non-recyclable waste. A tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Professional Association of Cement Companies aims to cut landfill volumes by 45% by 2030 and produce 660,000 tones of alternative fuels for cement kilns. This approach is expected to reduce raw material consumption in the energy-intensive sector, yet it also raises questions over industrial emissions, toxic byproducts, and lifecycle environmental impacts.
Current energy recovery initiatives include biogas capture at controlled landfills in Fez, Oujda, and Marrakech. However, scaling such operations will require robust monitoring systems to ensure that environmental benefits are not offset by pollution from processing facilities.
Expanding Material Recovery Chains
The plan incorporates measures to organize hazardous and non-hazardous waste sectors. Since 2019, Morocco has regulated streams such as used batteries, lubricating oils, and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), introducing agreements for structured collection and treatment. For plastic, paper, and tire waste, the government aims to boost recycling rates by supporting localized sorting and processing projects — a shift intended to create domestic value chains and reduce reliance on virgin materials.
An important social dimension is the integration of Morocco’s informal waste pickers, who play a major role in current recycling activities but lack legal protections or formal income structures. The government is developing a social plan to professionalize these workers, offering training, stable employment, and inclusion in official waste management systems.
