DOHA: With the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states having among the highest rates of waste output per capita in the world, the inaugural EcoWASTE exhibition, from January 20 to 22 in Abu Dhabi, will illustrate the potential to develop innovative solutions and new business opportunities to promote sustainable waste management, including recycling infrastructure and waste-to-energy technologies.
Qatar is leading by example with its Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC) showcasing its technology at the exhibition.
Completed in 2011, DSWMC, the first of its kind in the GCC, comprises a state-of-the-art waste sorting and recycling facility, an engineered landfill, a composting plant, and a 1,500 tonnes per day capacity waste-to-energy incineration plant.
Singaporean company Keppel Seghers designed and built the DSWMC complex.
“Several Middle East countries are considering waste-to-energy as a viable and cost-effective means to address the mounting problem of municipal waste output and Qatar has led by example,” said Dr Johan De Greef of Keppel Seghers.
“The DSWMC facility is entirely self-sufficient in power and exports 35MW of its total output of 50MW to the national grid. What’s more, 95 percent of the waste it receives is diverted from landfill.”
The exhibition, hosted by Masdar, in partnership with TADWEER-CWM, is also expected to provide a gateway to a multi-billion-dollar industry.
“The business potential of sustainable waste management is set to be transformed, and with the involvement of more than 50 local and international suppliers and 2,000 industry professionals, the first EcoWASTE exhibition is providing a gateway to a multi-billion-dollar industry,” said Naji El Haddad, Show Director, EcoWASTE.
In the UAE, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have set bold targets for reducing the amount of solid waste they send to landfill.
Sharjah is targeting zero-waste-to-landfill by 2015 and Abu Dhabi aims at diverting 85 percent of its waste from dumping grounds by 2018.
Among international suppliers, Swedish company Avfall Sverige will display its expertise in the waste-to-energy sector.
Around 50 percent of Sweden’s solid waste is converted into sustainable energy.
“Waste management is seen as a public service and there is a clear division of roles and responsibilities that enable necessary investments in infrastructure, for example,” said Weine Wiqvist, CEO, Avfall Sverige.
The Peninsula
