VeryNile Prevention Activities


VeryNile truly believes that no matter how much we clean, we cannot achieve real, sustainable change without creating behavioural change and raising public awareness. Thus, VeryNile undergoes a number of awareness raising activities and has launched various campaigns to challenge unhealthy approaches towards the environment.

Banning single use plastic bags
in Zamalek

Why ban plastic bags?

  • It takes at least 500 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade in a landfill, if at all (Center for Biological Diversity)
  • Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds globally and more than 100,000 marine mammals annually (UNESCO)
  • Around 8 million tons of plastic waste is disposed of in the world’s oceans every year. (UN Environment Assembly)
  • Most plastic is not biodegradable, it disintegrates into microplastics that last forever.
  • Not all plastic bags can be recycled.
  • Plastic bags end up blown, dumped or carried into the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Tourism, maritime trade, and fisheries are directly and adversely impacted by plastic pollution.
  • Plastic bags contribute to visual pollution.

As one of the most populated islands in Cairo, a large number of Zamalek’s plastic bags end up in the Nile, contributing to visual pollution and threats to marine life and ecosystems. Studies by UNESCO found that plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds globally and more than 100,000 marine mammals annually. Moreover, the UN Environment Assembly found that around 8 million tons of plastic waste is disposed of in the world’s oceans every year. Single-use plastic bags (SUPBs) make up a large amount of this disposed garbage, and according to the Centre for Biological Diversity, it takes at least 500 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade in a landfill.


VeryNile launched its first ‘Banning SUPBs from Zamalek’ campaign in February 2020, which was hosted by our partners Hilton Hotel Zamalek Residences. The launch was attended by Her Excellency Dr. Yasmine Fouad, the Minister of Environment, and other high-profile guests such as the Ambassador of France, all of whom expressed support for the ban. Her Excellency Dr. Yasmine Fouad has been supportive of this initiative since the beginning – media coverage of this support has ignited an important debate about SUPBs in many media and television outlets.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with Attijariwafa Bank, VeryNile produced 3,000 cotton bags to be distributed and used as an alternative to plastic bags. The bags were made with Upfuse, who made the base out of recycled plastic bags in order to maximise practicality.



Join the Movement!

Awareness Campaigns

VeryNile believes in diversifying projects to reach different audiences. We also believe in the power of creative content. In 2020, VeryNile partnered with Zawya Cinema to create a short awareness video raising awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic bags on the environment, specifically marine life. The aim was to connect viewers with the cause and to show that all sectors, even the cinema industry, can play a role in educating their consumers. The result was ‘Zouzou’ – a short animated story of a fish whose habitat is slowly destroyed by single-use plastics, and eventually its health too. Thanks to our partners at Zawya, ‘Zouzou’ was seen by hundreds of viewers, as well as thousands of times online.

VeryNile created a creative photoseries showcasing VeryNile’s ‘Reviving Cairo Fishermen’ project in which Cairo fishermen have created a green army of Nile cleaners. The photoseries went viral, reaching more than two million Facebook users and engaging thousands in the conversation about our responsibility towards the environment.

Developing Solid Waste Management Solutions

On Qursaya island where our ‘Reviving Cairo Fishermen’ project is based, VeryNile has created an incentive for locals on the island to adapt to new solid waste management solutions. Rather than discarding of their solid waste in the Nile, households now understand that their waste has a monetary value and that VeryNile’s Hub on the island is a waste collection center.

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