Humanitarian & development
- Location:
Atar (Mauritania) - Sponsor:
José de Graeve - Grant:
€40,000 at the selection committee meeting on 16 March 2020
Project owner
Community of Atar
Located in the administrative division of Adrar, Mauritania, Atar has a population of just over 20,000. It is the gateway to Adrar, a region known for its cultural wealth, landscapes and geology. A major tourist destination, its economy has been enjoying a revival since Mauritania once again became accessible for tourists. The municipality of Atar has identified cleanliness as an important issue that needs improvement, and has made it a priority.
In fact, a household waste collection service already exists: it is operated by four teams with scooters. And ten neighbourhood committees (six of them chaired by women) are now up and running. In particular, they do the essential work of raising awareness and empowering users.
Technical and financial backing
The negative aspect is storage. Collected waste is taken out of the city to an undeveloped landfill site a few kilometres from the centre. No special facilities have been identified on-site: with the exception of the informal recovery of scrap metal and tin cans, there is no sorting or recycling.
To support the efforts of the Atar town council, the Veolia Foundation has undertaken to provide technical support. An initial needs assessment mission took place in early 2020. The entire process was examined and the pre-collection, collection and landfill phases were audited. Site visits were also organized by the town council under the leadership of the deputy mayor.
At the same time, support is being provided to equip the town with a dump truck: this will facilitate the collection process. The Veolia Foundation would like to help Atar take its waste management to another level.
