Tunisia cannot handle its own waste, so why is it importing Europe's?

Rubbish conundrum: Tunisia cannot handle its own waste, so why is it importing Europe's?
A scandal that embroiled Tunisia's Ministry of Environment reveals the complicated nature of greenwashing



Date oases in the southern city of Tozeur used to have three layers of agriculture: vegetable crops close to the soil, citrus trees in the understory, and date palms towering over the rest. With the advent of monoculture for Diglet Nour dates, the palm groves are now choked with rubbish.
Erin Clare Brown
Tunisia is drowning in rubbish. Piles of household refuse rot on street corners in neighbourhoods both working-class and upscale. The side of every major road is littered with piles of construction debris and countless plastic bags and empty water bottles. Last week, as record-breaking rain doused the country, dozens of towns and neighbourhoods flooded as rubbish choked culverts and storm drains, sending run-off into homes and sweeping cars away.

“We are at peak pollution,” said Nidhal Attia, the co-ordinator of the environmental programme at the Heinrich Boll Foundation in Tunisia. “We consume without barriers," but a combination of corruption, poor governance, a critical lack of infrastructure and a proliferation of plastics in recent years means Tunisia's waste crisis continues to pile up.

Why Tunisians are back on the streets seven years after the Jasmine Revolution

Why Tunisians are back on the streets seven years after the Jasmine Revolution
John Filitz

Mass demonstrations in Tunisia after its government announced austerity measures. Youssef Boudlal/Reuters

Seven years ago in January a popular uprising in Tunisia ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. This year over 770 Tunisian civilians have been detained and one civilian has been killed in protests that commemorated what became known as the Jasmine Revolution.