Plastic Waste Management in UAE

Plastics are an inseparable part of modern society. However, their safe disposal is a big and highly challenging issue. A typical UAE resident uses 450 plastic water bottles on an average in a single year1. With the equivalent of 43 gallons on an average per person in 2011, the United Arab Emirates had the fourth-highest level of bottled water consumption in the world. A whopping 11 billion plastic bags are used annually, according to statistics from UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water. This goes on to add up to an annual overall waste of 912.5 kilogram per capita2, 3, and 4. These … Continue reading

Kia and The Waste Lab Partner to Raise Awareness on the Reality of Food Waste

Kia Corporation partnered with Dubai-based start-up, The Waste Lab, and launched a three-stage GCC based campaign whilst transforming food waste into healthy compost. The partnership, commenced at the start of Ramadan, nudging consumers to rethink their practices and mindset around food wastage. The Waste Lab is a women-led, impact-driven startup based in the UAE, with a mission to reduce and repurpose food waste. Kia has always been an advocate of sustainable mobility solutions. In line with their vision of creating a positive impact on the environment, Kia is facilitating The Waste Lab as part of the collaboration with the Kia … Continue reading

نصائح لتقليل النفايات الغذائية

تبذير الطعام له آثار بيئية واقتصادية وكذلك الاجتماعية.  ارتفاع نصيب الفرد من الدخل والإنفاق، ومستويات المعيشة، القدرة على تحمل التكاليف و اللامبالاة تجاه الطعام كلها عوامل لها تأثير سلبي كبير على مواردنا المحدودة. في مراكز التسوق والمطاعم على سبيل المثال ، من الشائع أن نرى كميات متراكمة من الطعام غير المستهلك كليا أو جزئيا. للأسف، الرفاهية تؤدي إلى تفشي  توليد النفايات الغذائية في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط، وخاصة دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي. خطورة الوضع يمكن قياسها من كون أن أكثر من 300 طن من النفايات الغذائية يتم توليدها يوميا  في البحرين وهذا يشكل حوالي 11٪ من إجمالي  نفايات البلدية . … Continue reading

Food Waste Woes in Qatar

Food waste is a huge issue in Qatar. In 2012, a massive 1.4 million metric tonnes of food was consumed and wasted in Qatar. This figure, divided by the then population of 2.05 million, equates to an average of 636 kilograms (kg) of food per person for the year, or 1.74 kg per day. Given the benchmark of two kg per person per day (preferably nutritious fare that does not contain too many kilojoules), that does not sound too excessive. But if you remove the young, elderly, short-term visitors/workers and people who consume less than two kg per day from the … Continue reading

The Benefits of Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Wastes

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process which stabilizes organic waste in the absence of air and transforms it into energy-rich biogas and biofertilizer. It is a reliable technology for the treatment of wet, organic waste. Organic waste from various sources is biochemically degraded in highly controlled, oxygen-free conditions circumstances resulting in the production of biogas which can be used to produce both electricity and heat. Almost any organic material can be processed with anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is particularly suited to wet organic material and is commonly used for effluent and sewage treatment. This includes biodegradable waste materials such as … Continue reading

Popular Methods for Plastic Wastes Collection

Plastic consumption has grown at a tremendous rate over the past two decades as plastics now play an important role in all aspects of modern lifestyle. Collection and disposal of plastic waste has emerged as an important environmental challenge and its recycling is facing roadblocks due to their non-degradable nature. There are four basic ways in which communities can offer plastic waste collection services for plastic bottles and containers – curbside, drop-off, buy-back or deposit/refund programs. Curbside Recycling The first, and most widely accessible, collection method is curbside collection of recyclables. Curbside (or kerbside) collection is considered a low-risk strategy … Continue reading

Biomass Potential of Date Palm Wastes

Date palm is one of the principal agricultural products in the arid and semi-arid region of the world, especially Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. There are more than 120 million date palm trees worldwide yielding several million tons of dates per year, apart from secondary products including palm midribs, leaves, stems, fronds and coir. The Arab world has more than 84 million date palm trees with the majority in Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates. Egypt is the world’s largest date producer with annual production of 1.47 million tons of dates in … Continue reading

Everything You Need to Know About Recycling of Plastics

Disposal of plastic waste has emerged as an important environmental challenge in the Middle East where plastics make up as much as one-tenth of the solid waste stream. In affluent GCC nations, plastic waste composition in municipal solid waste is around 12 – 16 percent. Plastic waste in the region is continuously increasing due to increasing use of plastics in daily life. The Middle East is responsible for about 8 percent of the global plastic production.   Plastic waste is a source of greenhouse gas emissions and ecological damage. Majority of the items found on beaches across the region contain … Continue reading

4 Quick Ways to Reduce E-Waste in Your Small Business

The issue of e-waste is one we all need to face up to, and small businesses are in a position to do more to help the environment and also reduce costs in this context. If you’re looking for a fresh approach to minimizing e-waste in a flash, here are some tips to consider following in your own organization. 1. Donate Old Equipment If you own a small business, chances are there’s an abundance of unused tech lying around. Don’t let these items go to waste – donate them instead. You can give away any gently used equipment like desktop computers, … Continue reading

إعادة التدوير: قيم تبادل المعادن الأكثر طلبًا

في الوقت الذي أصبحت فيه إعادة تدوير النفايات وإعادة استخدامها وإصلاحها هي القاعدة للحد من آثار التعدين وتغير المناخ ، قد يكون من المفيد معرفة أي المعادن يمكن إعادة تدويرها. تم إنشاء اقتصاد دائري جديد حول إعادة التدوير. يمكن لكل من المهنيين والأفراد إعادة بيع نفاياتهم المعدنية إلى مشترين المحول الحفاز أو الشركات المتخصصة الأخرى. ثم يتم تحويلها لمنحهم حياة ثانية- إدارة النفايات مبدأ إدارة النفايات: تقليل وإعادة الاستخدام وإعادة التدوير. إنتاج جديد من القديم: هذا أحد أكبرالتحديات التي تواجه البشرية. في السنوات الخمسين الماضية ، أدى تطوير تقنيات جديدة إلى استغلال أكثر كثافة للأرض وقاع البحر لاستخراج المعادن النادرة … Continue reading

A Glance at Plastics Recycling

Plastic consumption has grown at a tremendous rate worldwide, and Middle East is no exception. Plastics now play an increasingly important role in all aspects of modern life. and used in the manufacture of all sorts of items including protective packaging, mobile phones, domestic appliances, furniture items, medical devices etc. Each year around 1trillon plastic bags are used worldwide with most of them ending up in landfills, dumpsites and water bodies. Due to the rising demand, the global plastic consumption is expected to reach 300 million tons by 2015. Per capita consumption of plastics in the GCC is estimated to be 33kg per annum … Continue reading

Top Ways to Achieve Zero Waste at Your Home

Zero waste is a movement that has been vastly popularized by millennials. It is essentially a culture of not leaving anything behind. With the condition that our planet is in right now, in terms of trash, it makes a lot of sense. People are becoming more conscious of their footprint and it’s a great thing. Although a lot of people know about it, not many actually commit. I could never stop using tissues, I’m allergic to pollen! I love snacks too much, this is impossible. Someone else will take care of the planet, I don’t have to do it. People … Continue reading