Category Archives: Waste Management

Solid Waste Management in the Mediterranean – Challenges, and Success Stories

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Solid waste management in the Mediterranean region represents one of the most complex and pressing environmental challenges of the 21st century, shaped by a unique combination of demographic pressures, economic disparities, tourism intensity, and fragile ecosystems. The Mediterranean basin, home to over 500 million people and one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, generates rapidly increasing volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW), while facing persistent structural deficiencies in collection, treatment, and disposal systems. These challenges are particularly acute in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, where institutional, financial, and technical limitations hinder progress toward sustainable waste management systems. Scale of … Continue reading →

Hazardous Waste Management in MENA: Pathways, Challenges and Opportunities

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Hazardous waste management in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has become a critical environmental, economic, and public health issue, shaped by rapid industrialization, demographic growth, urban expansion, and increasing consumption patterns. Hazardous waste, defined as waste exhibiting toxic, corrosive, reactive, or flammable properties requires specialized handling, treatment, and disposal systems to prevent harm to ecosystems and human health [1]. Globally, between 300 and 500 million tonnes of hazardous waste are generated annually, reflecting the scale of the challenge [2]. Within the MENA region, although comprehensive data remain fragmented, available evidence suggests that hazardous waste streams are rising … Continue reading →

Biomass Energy in Jordan: An Overview

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Jordan has promising biomass energy potential in the form of municipal solid wastes, crop residues and organic industrial wastes. Municipal solid wastes represent the best source of biomass in Jordan. In terms of quantity per capita and constituents, the waste generated in Jordan is comparable to most semi-industrialized nations. Agricultural biomass offers a low energy potential due to arid climate in most of the country. The major biomass energy resources in Jordan are: Municipal waste from big cities Organic wastes from slaughterhouse, vegetable market, hotels and restaurants Organic waste from agro-industries Animal manure, mainly from cows and chickens Sewage sludge … Continue reading →

Desalination Membranes as RDF for Cement Kilns: Opportunities and Constraints

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The rapid expansion of desalination through reverse osmosis has significantly transformed global water resource management, but it has also created a growing challenge related to the management of end-of-life membranes. These industrial wastes, mainly composed of engineering polymers such as polyamide, polysulfone, and polypropylene, exhibit physicochemical properties that, while initially optimized for filtration, may become an asset within an energy recovery framework [1-2]. The average lifespan of reverse osmosis membranes ranges from five to ten years, generating substantial waste streams worldwide [1]. As an order of magnitude, a desalination plant with a capacity of 100,000 m³/day can generate between 2,000 … Continue reading →

The Hidden Cost of Office Paper Waste: Why Businesses Are Printing Money Down the Drain

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Paper accounts for approximately 70% of total office waste, yet the financial cost of that waste rarely features in sustainability conversations. New analysis by plantable paper specialists SeedPrint puts a number on it: with half of all printed documents discarded within 24 hours and 30% never collected from printers at all, US businesses alone are spending an estimated $32.5 billion every year on paper that serves no purpose. The findings are drawn from EPA waste statistics and industry employment data. Each US office worker is responsible for generating around 323 pounds of paper waste annually from their employer’s operations. The … Continue reading →

Methane Emissions from Anaerobic Degradation of Organic Matter and Mitigation through Flaring

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Methane (CH₄) is a key product of the anaerobic degradation of organic waste and represents one of the most critical environmental challenges associated with waste management systems, particularly landfills and controlled disposal sites. The formation, emission, and mitigation of methane from such systems have been extensively studied due to its high global warming potential and its significant contribution to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This work provides a comprehensive discussion of methane generation through anaerobic degradation processes and evaluates mitigation strategies, with a particular focus on flaring, which converts methane into carbon dioxide (CO₂), thereby reducing its climate impact. The biodegradation … Continue reading →

Plastic Waste Management in UAE

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Plastics are an inseparable part of modern society. However, their safe disposal is a big and highly challenging issue. A typical UAE resident uses 450 plastic water bottles on an average in a single year1. With the equivalent of 43 gallons on an average per person in 2011, the United Arab Emirates had the fourth-highest level of bottled water consumption in the world. A whopping 11 billion plastic bags are used annually, according to statistics from UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water. This goes on to add up to an annual overall waste of 912.5 kilogram per capita2, 3, and 4. These … Continue reading →

Kia and The Waste Lab Partner to Raise Awareness on the Reality of Food Waste

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Kia Corporation partnered with Dubai-based start-up, The Waste Lab, and launched a three-stage GCC based campaign whilst transforming food waste into healthy compost. The partnership, commenced at the start of Ramadan, nudging consumers to rethink their practices and mindset around food wastage. The Waste Lab is a women-led, impact-driven startup based in the UAE, with a mission to reduce and repurpose food waste. Kia has always been an advocate of sustainable mobility solutions. In line with their vision of creating a positive impact on the environment, Kia is facilitating The Waste Lab as part of the collaboration with the Kia … Continue reading →

نصائح لتقليل النفايات الغذائية

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تبذير الطعام له آثار بيئية واقتصادية وكذلك الاجتماعية.  ارتفاع نصيب الفرد من الدخل والإنفاق، ومستويات المعيشة، القدرة على تحمل التكاليف و اللامبالاة تجاه الطعام كلها عوامل لها تأثير سلبي كبير على مواردنا المحدودة. في مراكز التسوق والمطاعم على سبيل المثال ، من الشائع أن نرى كميات متراكمة من الطعام غير المستهلك كليا أو جزئيا. للأسف، الرفاهية تؤدي إلى تفشي  توليد النفايات الغذائية في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط، وخاصة دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي. خطورة الوضع يمكن قياسها من كون أن أكثر من 300 طن من النفايات الغذائية يتم توليدها يوميا  في البحرين وهذا يشكل حوالي 11٪ من إجمالي  نفايات البلدية . … Continue reading →

Food Waste Woes in Qatar

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Food waste is a huge environmental and socio-economic issue in the State of Qatar. In 2012, a massive 1.4 million metric tonnes of food was consumed and wasted in Qatar. This figure, divided by the then population of 2.05 million, equates to an average of 636 kilograms (kg) of food per person for the year, or 1.74 kg per day. Given the benchmark of two kg per person per day (preferably nutritious fare that does not contain too many kilojoules), that does not sound too excessive. But if you remove the young, elderly, short-term visitors/workers and people who consume less … Continue reading →

The Benefits of Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Wastes

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Anaerobic digestion is a biological process which stabilizes organic waste in the absence of air and transforms it into energy-rich biogas and biofertilizer. It is a reliable technology for the treatment of wet, organic waste. Organic waste from various sources is biochemically degraded in highly controlled, oxygen-free conditions circumstances resulting in the production of biogas which can be used to produce both electricity and heat. Almost any organic material can be processed with anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is particularly suited to wet organic material and is commonly used for effluent and sewage treatment. This includes biodegradable waste materials such as … Continue reading →

Popular Methods for Plastic Wastes Collection

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Plastic consumption has grown at a tremendous rate over the past two decades as plastics now play an important role in all aspects of modern lifestyle. Collection and disposal of plastic waste has emerged as an important environmental challenge and its recycling is facing roadblocks due to their non-degradable nature. There are four basic ways in which communities can offer plastic waste collection services for plastic bottles and containers – curbside, drop-off, buy-back or deposit/refund programs. Curbside Recycling The first, and most widely accessible, collection method is curbside collection of recyclables. Curbside (or kerbside) collection is considered a low-risk strategy … Continue reading →