Category Archives: Waste Management

Advancements in Tire Shredding: Enhancing Tire Disposal Efficiency

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Disposal of old tires is a real challenge, especially considering its link to broader issues such as waste management and environmental care. With growing global concern, finding efficient ways to handle used tires is more crucial than ever. One approach gaining popularity is tire-shredding, a practical method to deal with tire waste that also minimizes environmental impact. Fortunately, the tire-shredding techniques of today have undergone numerous transformations, mainly owing to technological advancements. These improvements aim to make the tire shredding process more efficient, sustainable, and less damaging to the environment. This article explores these technological advancements in-depth, highlighting how they … Continue reading →

A Holistic Approach to Tackling Food Waste Problem in Qatar

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In a country that imports 90% of its food, discarded food accounts for about half of Qatar’s municipal garbage. These statistics point to the loss of millions of riyals each year, in the form of food wastage. The food in landfills rots to release greenhouse gases like methane which are responsible for the rise in temperatures which contributes to global warming. According to Project Drawdown, the global leader in quantifying climate change strategies, reducing food waste is the single greatest solution to reverse climate change, which could draw 87 gigatons of CO2 out of the atmosphere, way ahead of a global plant-based … Continue reading →

Textile Waste – The Next Big Challenge After Plastic Pollution

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For decades, plastic pollution has dominated environmental discussions and policy agendas worldwide. Yet another environmental challenge is rapidly escalating and deserves equal attention: textile waste. The unprecedented expansion of the fashion industry, particularly the rise of fast fashion, has transformed the way clothes are designed, produced, consumed, and discarded. As a result, textile waste is growing at an alarming rate, creating serious environmental, economic, and social consequences that extend far beyond overflowing landfills. The global fashion industry has experienced extraordinary growth over the past two decades. Clothing production has more than doubled since 2000, while consumers now purchase approximately 60% … Continue reading →

Urban Integration of Waste-to-Energy Facilities: A Comparative Case Study and Framework for Sustainable Neighborhoods

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The paper addresses the global and local shift towards the circular economy as a tool to achieve environmental sustainability and reduce climate impacts, given the global challenges of converting waste into energy. Through an analysis of global studies, the trend towards the circular economy and successful global standards, specifically the Danish model (Copenhill WTE plant) and Singapore (Tuas One WTE Plant), and how we utilize waste and achieve sustainability, this study discusses global strategies in the local context in Jordan, where it identifies current infrastructure challenges and proposes a sustainable local framework aimed at improving waste management and supporting the … Continue reading →

Waste-to-Energy Pathways: An Overview

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Waste-to-energy is the use of modern combustion and biological technologies to recover energy from urban wastes. The conversion of waste material to energy can proceed along three major pathways – thermochemical, biochemical and physicochemical. Thermochemical conversion, characterized by higher temperature and conversion rates, is best suited for lower moisture feedstock and is generally less selective for products. On the other hand, biochemical technologies are more suitable for wet wastes which are rich in organic matter. 1. Thermochemical Conversion of Waste The three principal methods of thermochemical conversion of MSW are combustion (in excess air), gasification (in reduced air), and pyrolysis (in … Continue reading →

Solid Waste Management in Bahrain

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The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of around 33 islands, the largest being the Bahrain Island. The population of Bahrain is around 1.68 million marked by population density of 2,241 persons per km2, which is the highest in the entire GCC region. The country has the distinction of being the highest per capita waste generator worldwide which is estimated at around 906.7 kg of waste per person per year. Rising population, high waste generation growth rate, limited land availability and scarcity of waste disposal sites has made solid waste management a highly challenging task for policy makers, urban planners … Continue reading →

Analysis of a Composting Facility

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The composting process is a complex interaction between organic waste and the microorganisms within the waste. The microorganisms that carry out this process fall into three groups: bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. Actinomycetes are a form of fungi-like bacteria that break down organic matter. The first stage of the biological activity is the consumption of easily available sugars by bacteria, which causes a fast rise in temperature. The second stage involves bacteria and actinomycetes that cause cellulose breakdown. The last stage is concerned with the breakdown of the tougher lignins by fungi. The composting process occurs when biodegradable waste is piled together … Continue reading →

Biomass Energy Resources in Jordan: An Overview

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With high population growth rate, increase in industrial and commercial activities, high cost of imported energy fuels and higher GHGs emissions, supply of cheap and clean energy resources has become a challenge for the Jordanian Government. Consequently, the need for implementing renewable energy projects, especially solar, wind, biomass and energy-from-waste, has emerged as a national priority in recent years. Jordan has substantial biomass resources in the form of municipal solid wastes, sewage, industrial wastes and animal manure. Municipal solid wastes represent the best source of biomass in Jordan. Solid waste generation in the country is approximately 2 million tons per … Continue reading →

Recycling of PET Plastic Bottles: An Overview

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Like all other modern urban centers, the Middle East also faces challenges in environmental protection due to tremendous generation of plastic waste produced in different forms. The total solid waste generation in the Middle East region exceeds 155 million tons per annum, out of which around 15 percent is contributed by plastic wastes. The burgeoning population, growing consumption, and an increasing trend towards a “disposable” culture, is causing nightmares to municipal authorities across the region and beyond. Plastic consumption has grown at a tremendous rate over the past few decades as plastics now play an important role in all aspects … Continue reading →

The Popular Methods for Aluminium Recycling

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The demand for aluminium products is growing steadily because of their positive contribution to modern living. Aluminium is the second most widely used metal whereas the aluminum can is the most recycled consumer product in the world. Aluminium finds extensive use in air, road and sea transport, food and medicine, packaging, construction, electronics and electrical power transmission. The excellent recyclability of aluminium, together with its high scrap value and low energy needs during recycling make aluminium highly desirable to one and all. The global aluminium demand is forecasted to soar to nearly 70 million tons by 2020 from around 37 … Continue reading →

Animal Waste Management in Africa: Perspectives

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Livestock and poultry production are among the main economic activities in rural as well as urban areas of African countries. The livestock sector, in particular sheep, goats and camels, plays an important role in the national economy of African countries. In addition, the region has witnessed very rapid growth in the poultry sector. The livestock industry and poultry industry, however, are contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions and waste crisis in Africa due to the absence of a sustainable animal waste management system. Most of the manure is collected in lagoons or left to decompose in the open which presents … Continue reading →

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) – Fuel Pellets from Solid Wastes

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Municipal solid waste is a poor-quality fuel and its pre-processing is necessary to convert it into fuel pellets to improve its consistency, storage properties, handling characteristics, combustion behaviour and calorific value. Technological improvements are taking place in the realms of advanced source separation of MSW, resource recovery and production of RDF pellets in both existing and new plants for this purpose. There has been an increase in global interest in the preparation of MSW fuel pellets or Refuse Derived Fuel (or RDF) so let us take a close look at this interesting alternative fuel. RDF Manufacturing Process Pelletization of municipal … Continue reading →