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Four recycling plants opened in Al Ain

Four giant plants for treating different clinical, animal and construction wastes were officially opened by the Centre of Waste Management (CWM) in Al Ain, on Monday.

These plants will treat about 2,200 to 2,500 tonnes of waste per day.

Majed Ali Al Mansoori, managing director of the CWM and Chairman of the Department of Municipal Affairs in Abu Dhabi, Alawi Mohamed Saeed Kamel, president and management director of Dallah Group and a number of officials from various government departments attended the ceremony.

The four recycling facilities — the Clinical Waste Incinerator (CWI), Fallen Stock Incinerator (FSI) or dead animals, the Sanitary Landfill and the Crushing Plant (SLCP) facility are located on the outskirts of Al Ain city.

“Waste occupies a large extend of land in the emirate which is of major concern for us,” said Al Mansoori on the sidelines of the opening. “We intend to reduce and recycle it,” he added. He said the four plants cost Dh82 million.

The Crushing Plant or SLCP which started operations a month ago, is capable of processing 2,000 tonnes of construction debris per day, turning it into usable materials such as base used for constructing roads.

Medical waste is collected from hospitals and clinics, both private and public, in Al Ain and nearby regions through a contractor and sent to the CWI which has been operational for the past two years.

According to the waste management centre, these health care facilitates numbering approximately 150 generate around five tonnes of hazardous medical waste per day. This waste is transported in refrigerated vehicles to the incinerator plant situated almost 35km from the town centre in special containers supplied to the hospitals.

At the plant, all waste is incinerated in two lines of 250kg per hour capacity, at temperatures ranging in excess of 850-1150 degree celsius. The medical waste is transformed into ash of two types, bottom ash and fly ash. The ash is then sent to the sanitary landfill and the hazardous waste cell while flue gas emissions are purified and cleansed in accordance with international standards and laws followed in the UAE.

The FSI which was made operational a month back, accepts fallen stock or dead animals collected from Al Ain and its neighbourhood by contractors responsible for waste collection services. Statistics reveal that approximately 2,100 large animals and 19,550 small to medium-size animals are transported in special transport vehicles to the fallen stock incinerator per day. The facility incinerates dead animals through two lines with the capacity of 650kg per hour at temperatures that exceed 850 degrees celsius. Residual bottom ash is sent to the sanitary landfill for disposal and flue gas emissions is monitored and controlled in accordance with international standards and laws followed in the UAE.

Talking to Khaleej Times, Rafael Sanjurjo Lopez, general manager of MBM-Dallah, which is responsible for clinical waste collection, said, four to five tonnes of medical waste is collected every day from the Al Ain region and treated at the recycling plant daily.

Recycle and reuse

The sanitary landfill has been designed to receive rejects generated by the sorting station and compost plant facility and the bottom ash and fly ash generated by the CWI. The facility which started operations a month back receives the ash generated by the fallen stock incinerator. The municipal solid waste rejects from the sorting station and the compost plant is placed in a single lined cell at the landfill facility and the waste is covered on a daily basis to prevent the incidence of flies, insects and odour.

The fly ash designated as hazardous waste, which is received in specially designed double lined bags, is placed in a special cell which is also double-lined to protect the ground water resources from any contamination.

Crushing capacity

The crushing plant facility has been designed to receive construction and demolition waste generated by Al Ain and its neighbourhood. The plant has a capacity to process 2,000 tonnes per day and to produce aggregates of different sizes, which shall be sold to road works and construction companies.

The rejects from the process consisting of dust size particles is being used as a cover material at the sanitary landfill. Recyclable materials like iron, wood and plastics shall also be recovered to be recycled and reused. Environmental Control and Monitoring Programmes approved by the Environmental Agency, Abu Dhabi, is practiced at both the facilities in order to protect ground water resources, land and air from any contamination.

At A Glance

· 2,000 tonnes of construction waste is recycled everyday at the SLCP in Al Ain

· 2,100 large animals and 19,550 small to medium sized animals are transported to the FSI per year in Al Ain

· The emirate has lost nearly 1,800 hectares of land as they were transferred to landfills

· Abu Dhabi alone produces 4.745 million tonnes of waste annually

· If these measures were not implemented, around 3,600 hectares of land will be transferred to landfills by 2030

The Plants

· The facilities in Al Ain officially opened on March 21

· Clinical waste incinerator (CWI), has been operational for two years

· Fallen Stock Incinerator (FSI) or dead animal, was made operational a month back

· Sanitary Landfill and the Crushing Plant (SLCP) facilities started operations a month back

Al Ain Waste Facts

· 2,200 to 2,300 tonnes of waste is collected per day by the Municipal Solid Waste in Al Ain

· Five tonnes of medical waste is collected by Star International per day from around 150 private and public hospitals in Al Ain

anwar@khaleejtimes.com