Recycling industry to open new vistas in UAE

Dubai: Recycling industry is taking root and the dynamics of the UAE economy will open many new vistas of cooperation and amalgamation in the scrap and metal industries, echoed industry experts at 5th Bureau of Middle East Recycling International Conference in Dubai.
Dubai is hosting the World Expo 2020 the event is likely to take recycling industry to new heights. They said by 2020 the GCC economy is projected to be $2 trillion.
Essa Al Hashemi, assistant undersecretary of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Water, and Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson Emirates Environmental Group, inaugurated the event recently. The BMR, one of the leading umbrella organisations of 150 metal and scrap dealers in the region, is playing host to ISRI, BRI and CMRA delegates.
The conference has brought together suppliers, buyers and trading communities from the GCC region, Asia, Africa and the West, with the explicit intention to brainstorm on recycling, and how to make it environment friendly.
Mir Mujtaba Hussain, secretary general BMR, said that it is an opportunity to re-chalk the hallmarks of a great interaction between industries and the end-consumers to make the world an eco-friendly place.
Salam Al Sharif, BMR president, said that the biggest challenges before the world leaders today are saving energy, addressing unemployment and global warming.
"It is here that recycling comes into address all these concerns", Al Sharif added.
He also highlighted the dilemma of regional and global economies while confronting the prices of crude oil, and said that it is directly related to growth and productivity.
Al Sharif said, metals are in stress and recycling can play a pivotal role in balancing the equation and in creating a better tomorrow, which is 'green and resilient'.
Habiba Al Marashi, co-founder of Emirates Environmental Group, said that the private sector has to play a leading role in attaining the objectives of a green-environment and saving energy. This will come to supplement the policies that the respective governments have in place in this critical area, she observed.
Marashi said the biggest challenge is to effectively recycle the waste. She said the argument is between burning the waste or recycling it. But the answer lies in which part of the world you are in, and what kind of approach you have towards environmental concerns. She proudly said that as far as the UAE is concerned, recycling is the way to go.
Ranjit Singh Baxi, president of Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), said that it is all about slowing demand and declining growth. He said weakening commodity prices, currency volatility and slumping oil prices are responsible factors, and the recycling industry has a gigantic task before it.
Douglas Kramer, chairman of Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, (ISRI) said that "scrap is never a waste".
abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com