Nile fishers in Cairo paid to bring back plastic as well as fish
A youth-led group in Cairo pays Nile fishers from Qursaya Island to collect plastic bottles, adding income as catches fall and keeping plastic out of the river.
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The small thing
VeryNile began in 2018 with volunteer clean-up events. In 2019 it started asking fishers on Qursaya Island to use their boats to collect plastic from the Nile.
The problem
Plastic bottles and bags clog stretches of the Nile in Cairo. Fishers report catching fewer fish each year, and studies cited by AFP found microplastics in most fish sampled from Cairo.
Why VeryNile and the Qursaya fishers started
Co-founder Mostafa Habib was inspired by conversations with his grandmother in Upper Egypt about pollution in the river (Stanford Social Innovation Review). He said people treated the river as a place to throw rubbish, and that fishers needed support because their catches had fallen.
What they did
VeryNile pays fishers per kilogram for plastic they collect, at a price it says is above what traders offer. Higher-value plastics such as bottles go to recyclers; AFP reported that lower-grade plastics were sent as fuel to a cement factory. When COVID-19 made group clean-ups unsafe, the group put more resources into the fisher partnership.
The group also works with local craftswomen to make baskets and bags, and with partners on a boat and an education project, according to SSIR and Al Manassa.
What changed
Reuters reported in 2021 that more than 40 fishers had collected about 18 tonnes of plastic bottles in a year, and that one fisher could add up to about 200 Egyptian pounds a day to his income. AFP reported in 2023 that VeryNile worked with 65 fishers and bought 10–12 tonnes of plastic a month. These figures come from the group and fishers and have not been independently audited.
What they learned
Linking the clean-up to fishers' income made it practical: as one fisher told Reuters, the river is cleaner and fishers gain another source of income. Some fishers initially worried about being seen as rubbish collectors rather than craftsmen (Al Manassa).
“On the one hand, the Nile is cleaner, and on the other hand the fisherman now has more than one source of income”VeryNile (founded by Mostafa Habib and Khadija Hafez) and fishers of Qursaya Island, as quoted by Reuters (via WDEZ)
Copy this idea
Practical guidance written by our editors from the sources below. Adapt it to your place, and check local rules and safety first.
- Problem addressed
- Plastic waste in a river, lake or coast where local people already work on the water.
- What to do
- Agree a fair per-kilogram price with fishers or boat owners to bring back plastic, then sell sorted material to recyclers.
- Materials and resources
- Collection sacks, scales, storage space, gloves, and links to recycling buyers.
- Approximate cost
- Moderate
- Skills
- Sorting plastics, bookkeeping, finding buyers and funders, relationship-building with fishers.
- Time
- Ongoing; regular collection days.
- People needed
- A small coordinating team and a group of fishers or boat users.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Risks and limitations
- Prices for plastic may not cover payments, safety on the water, unclear end-destination of low-grade plastic.
- How to adapt it
- Start with one material that has a steady buyer; combine with clean-ups and campaigns to reduce plastic use upstream.
- Lessons learned
- Respect people's existing work and status; check where collected plastic actually ends up.
Why it matters
Collecting plastic from a river does not stop it entering in the first place, and an expert quoted by AFP said such efforts can only scratch the surface. But the model shows how paying people who already work on the water can remove plastic while supporting livelihoods hit by pollution.
Policy connection
International commitments this kind of action contributes to. Listing a framework does not mean the person or group was working towards it.
- SDG 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.
- SDG 14.1: Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds.
- UNEA Resolution 5/14 (2022): Launched negotiations on an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.
What didn't work
COVID-19 stopped group clean-ups. Some fishers were reluctant at first, fearing loss of status. Income from plastic is seasonal and drops when winter tourism and waste fall. Fish stocks keep declining, and AFP noted that low-grade plastic is burned as cement-kiln fuel rather than recycled.
Editor's note
Al Manassa reported in March/April 2025 on fishers still collecting plastic and a boat project linked to VeryNile.
Sources: how do we know?
Evidence level: Documented. Supported by reliable published sources such as UN agencies, award bodies and reputable journalism. Not yet independently re-verified by our editors. What the person says and what independent sources establish are attributed separately in the text.
- reputable journalism
Nile fishermen protect stocks by pulling plastic from river — Mohamed Zaki, Sherif Fahmy, Nadeen Ebrahim, Reuters (via WDEZ), 25 May 2021Supports: 40+ fishers; ~18 tonnes in a year; fishers' income; quotes from Mohamed Nasar and Saeed Hassanein. - reputable journalism
VeryNile: cleaning the Nile with fishers — Marianne Dhenin, Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2021Supports: Founded 2018 by Mostafa Habib and Khadija Hafez; on-water clean-ups with fishers from 2019; COVID-19 shift; craftswomen; partners; Habib's motivation. - reputable journalism
Out of Nile, into tile: Young Egyptians battle plastic plague — AFP (via Africanews), 18 January 2023Supports: 65 fishers; 10–12 tonnes a month; low-grade plastic to cement factory; expert view that efforts scratch the surface; microplastics in Cairo fish. - reputable journalism
VeryNile and the Nile fishermen (feature) — Mohamed Awad, Al Manassa, 13 April 2025Supports: Fishers still collecting plastic in 2025; early reluctance; seasonal income; boat project; declining fish catches.
