Fighting Egypt’s plastic waste

Aya had to change mindsets towards the handling of waste in Egypt when she founded Recyclizer When growing up in Cairo, plastic pollutants had a devastating impact upon Aya Al-Sharqawy and her family. It was the motivation she needed to tackle the crisis head on after Leeds. "As a child growing up in a slum area of Cairo, I remember piles of waste in the street," says Aya Al-Sharqawy (MSc Environment and Development 2020). "The air, the water, the ground; everything was polluted." The recent death of Aya's father made those impacts even more stark: "The doctor told us the likely cause of his tumour was the microplastic and pollutants in his lungs. "It motivated me to do more." So much so that Aya has overcome countless challenges - from fighting gender discrimination to battling each day with serious illness - to make a difference with her start-up business Recyclizer. She travels to the COP27 conference in her home nation of Egypt with responsibility for the Youth and Future Generations Day. In order to help her community, Aya set her sights on Leeds.