A.P.E Objective is to improve the lives of the indegenous groups of garbage collectors as individuals and as a community .A.P.E combines its interest in serving the poor with its interest in protecting the environment specifically with regards to man-made household waste. It seeks to support the garbage collectors in their private activities of waste collection, disposal and recycling as well as devise its own schemes within this grand scheme of things.

A.P.E improves lives through hands-on implementation of projects in the area of income generation, revolving around recycling, primary health care , literacy, leadership training, mobilization of community resources, advocacy for women and girls, as well as networking with non-profit groups in the area of environmnet and developmnet while fostering strong partnership with government and private sector.

A.P.E benefits the garbage collector , especially women as they are considered the primary beneficiaries of A.P.E's activites. Furthermore, the environmnet is the second beneficiary because the activites lead to the protection of the earth's non-renewable resources by recycling and remanufacturing solid waste.

A.P.E services and works with about 400 individual: 250 women and girls in the rag recycling project, 50 in the paper recycling project, 30 young women in primary health care team, 50 young men who particpate in the composting project and the garbage seperation at the source project, administrative and other related staff support activities

A.P.E is managed and run by a 9-member board of trustees, a staff of over 50 people from among the garbage collectors, scores of volunteers who perform consulting services int he area of financial management, agricultural extension, deisgning projects, health and medical matters, sewing skills, paper recycling expertise , construction needs, sales and marketing expertise, and many more. The Board translates its policies into projects which are implemented both by paid professionals and by its own unpaid professional volunteers.

• Improving the lives of garbage collector families in Egypt
• Designing and implementing income generating schemes
• Improving the health situation of garbage collectors
• Offering lifelong learning opportunities through literacy, primary health care, mother and child care ,social activities, recreation, etc. to girls and young women ion the settlement
• Supporting schemes which would protect the environment form the mounting volume of man-made waste
• Designing and implementing environmental projects to specifically address the disposal and recycling of garbage
• Researching ways and means of improving garbage collection, sorting, recycling and disposal methods
• Adopting a participatory approach to grass root development
• Promoting better understanding of the dynamics of household garbage collection in urban areas, and the attendant effects of the occupation of a maginalized urban minority
• Networking with other NGO's in an effort to coordinate activities and avoid duplication of effort
• Participating at international fora and exchanging best practices as well as transferring technologies of solid waste management.

Mokattam neighborhood collects around 700 tons of household garbage on daily basis, men and children go out on the collection route, while girls and women sort it manually and recover many components of solid waste, such as plastic , aluminum, tin, glass, batteries, cloth, animal bones and food. The food is fed to animals which the garbage collectors breed in the backs of their homes. The waste generated by the animals is handled by the composting plant run by A.P.E. The other components are processed and cleaned then manufactured in the homes of the resident. The remaining 10% non-recyclable component is trucked to the municipal dump outside of the neighborhood.