Twice the size of Palm needed as waste landfill by 2050

The scenario is based on a comprehensive study by the Dubai Municipality.

With its growing population, Dubai needs an area measuring 11.8 km2 or twice the size of Palm Jumeirah by 2050 as waste landfill, lest the residents mitigate their increasing waste production, a waste management expert warned.
The scenario is based on a comprehensive study by the Dubai Municipality analysing the annual waste production and required landfill area in the emirate.
Speaking at a panel discussion on "Zero Waste: Food for Thought?"organised by Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) on Wednesday, Eng. Naji Alradhi, waste management and treatment expert at the Dubai Municipality (DM), said in 2013, the emirate produced 2.8M tonnes of waste and the landfill space back then was 124,000 sqm.
"Two years from now, or by 2020, waste production is expected to be 10 times and the needed landfill space is also 10 times bigger than in 2013. With the estimated growth rate in Dubai and should we not reduce our waste production, by 2050, we would need at least two times the size of Palm Jumeirah to put our municipal waste," Alradhi explained to Khaleej Times.
The expected annual waste production in Dubai by 2050 is 272M tonnes and a land area measuring 11.8 km2 is needed (Palm Jumeirah's total land area is 5.72 km2).
Alradhi underlined the need for meeting the challenges head-on and called for for substantial reduction in food loss and organic waste. He noted that the global estimated cost of discarding food waste annually has reached a staggering Dh1.5 trillion.
Moreover, according to UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, global food wastage is increasing by almost one-third of food production or equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes which are lost from consumption system every year.
Alradhi pointed out that more waste segration facilities are needed to lessen the demand for landfill spaces. He said that a sorting-at-source project was initiated by DM in 2012, where houses in 16 areas across Dubai were provided with two bins for their organic and inorganic waste.
The residents gave a high 80 per cent satisfaction rate on the service. However, he also noted that amongst commercial establishments, the compliance rate was just 44 per cent.
"We need more support from source management," Alradhi underlined.
He added that DM is targeting by 2021 a 75 per cent waste diversion by developing the waste sorting facilities and by 2030, there should be complete waste treatment (98%) through advanced techniques such as MBT (mechanical biological treatment facilities) and environment-friendly incinerations.
For his part, EEG vice chair Abdul Aziz Al Midfa, said: "The UAE can manage the reduction of waste through incorporation of process efficiencies, working within an integrated system that relies on multiple partners including volunteers, donor institutions, and supervisory bodies to ensure its success and efficiency."
Drawing attention on the implications of irresponsible food consumption, Fatima Ahmad Al Harmoudi, senior public awareness officer at the Centre of Waste Management - Abu Dhabi (Tadweer), said public awareness campaigns should be boosted.
She said "the lack of knowledge leads to food loss at every stage of the food supply chain: production, processing, retailing and consumption, causing significant economic losses, as production continues to grow, while the scarce food resources decline."
"We can always provide the numbers and statistics but beyond this, we need to make the people aware of the problem and make them move to find a solution," she concluded.
angel@khaleejtimes.com

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