Special facility to handle concrete waste in the city

Currently the civic body utilises a facility in Al Warqa for handling construction and demolition waste generated in the emirate.

The new facility will help the civic body in handling construction and demolition waste, the annual generation of which has seen considerable increase in the past few years owing to massive construction projects all over the emirate. Statistics reveal that the civic body handled 3.09 million tonnes of construction waste in 2000, and the figure gradually increased to 3.20 million tonnes in 2001.

In 2003 the annual figure for this type of waste in the emirate was a staggering 4.9 million tonnes, up from the 3.5 million tonnes in 2002. The projection for this year was initially put at 5.9 million tonnes, but by August the actual waste handled has already touched 4.2 million tonnes, and it is now estimated that by the end of the year the figure could reach 6.27 million tonnes.

“The new facility will have an approximate capacity of 3.5 million tonnes annually, but it is possible to expand the operations and increase the capacity,” Mr Al Radhi said, adding that the present facility would continue to be used for several years.

According to Mr Al Radhi, the construction works to set up the facility would take three to five months and it could be operational by mid-2005.

“The civic body has finalised the contractor for the project, the site has been allocated as well, and most of the formal procedures have been completed,” he said and added that works would begin at the site following the issuance of the final site plan from the Planning and Survey Department, and completion of contracting formalities by the Purchasing and Contracts Department.

Explaining the constant increase of this type of waste, Mr Al Radhi pointed out that the increase is directly proportional to the increase in construction activity.

“It is very hard to predict the increase in a particular year. It could go half way at a normal rate and suddenly shoot up with the commencement of a huge construction project,” he said.

The silver lining in this cloud of waste concrete is that the studies conducted by a private firm have revealed that aggregate (small stones used in concrete) can be extracted profitably from construction and demolition waste. A report on this aspect of recycling of concrete actually claims that recycled concrete can produce enough aggregate to meet up to four per cent of the UAE demand.