Tag Archives: waste

Recycling Prospects in Saudi Arabia

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Recycling conserves resources, reduces landfill use, and saves energy. It diminishes pollution, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and fosters economic growth by creating jobs in the recycling sector. Technological advances in recycling methods are encouraged, promoting environmental stewardship and awareness. It’s a critical component of sustainable waste management and helps protect natural ecosystems. The concept of waste recycling has been getting increasing attention in Saudi Arabia in recent years. The country produces around 15 million tons of municipal solid waste each year with an average daily rate of 1.4 kg per person. This rate is projected to double (30 million tons … Continue reading →

Egypt’s Water Crisis – Recipe for Disaster

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Egypt has been suffering from severe water scarcity in recent years. Uneven water distribution, misuse of water resources and inefficient irrigation techniques are some of the major factors playing havoc with water security in the country. Egypt has only 20 cubic meters per person of internal renewable freshwater resources, and as a result the country relies heavily on the Nile River for its main source of water. The River Nile is the backbone of Egypt’s industrial and agricultural sector and is the primary source of drinking water for the population. Rising populations and rapid economic development in the countries of … Continue reading →

Guidelines for Eco-Friendly Eidul Fitr

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The culmination of the holy month of Ramadan is with the festival of Eidul Fitr or Feast of Breaking the Fast. Eid is considered as a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide and to show a common goal of unity. The main aspects of Eid are congregational prayers in mosques, open areas and parks, get to gather of families and friends at home or restaurants, making and eating special dishes and wearing ceremonial dresses. Eidul Fitr, like other local, national and religious festivals often have a major impact on the environmental resources. Extra food, drinks and clothing are made, used … Continue reading →

Litani River: A Sorry State of the Affairs

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The Litani River, the largest river in Lebanon, faces a multitude of environmental problems. Due to decades of neglect and mismanagement, the river has become heavily polluted. The main contributors to the degradation of Litani River are industrial pollution from factories and slaughterhouse, untreated sewage, chemicals from agriculture runoffs and disposal of municipal waste. The pollution has reached such a level where it is obvious to the human eye and causing serious health issues for people drinking its contaminated water. The Litani River is a source of income for many families who use it in summer for many recreational activities; … Continue reading →

Industrial Symbiosis Prospects in Jordan

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In a developing country, such as Jordan, with a relatively emerging economy and limited natural resources, the industrial sector expends more effort than developed countries and even more than developing countries that are rich in natural resources. In such a situation, industries should look into finding solutions to sustain their existence, which is not confined to keeping their production lines running and making profit, but it goes beyond that, it goes to a whole way of thinking a way that integrates the surrounding environment and that confirms on the industrial sector responsibility toward the environment, the home of its raw … Continue reading →

Solid Waste Management Challenges in GCC

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The challenges posed by solid waste to governments and communities are many and varied. In the GCC region, where most countries have considerably high per capita waste generation values, the scale of the waste management challenge faced by civic authorities is even bigger. Fast-paced industrial growth, recent construction boom, increasing population, rapid urbanisation, and vastly improved lifestyle coupled with unsustainable consumption patterns have all contributed to the growing waste crisis in the GCC. Among the GCC nations, United Arab Emirates has the highest municipal solid waste generation per capita of 2.2 kg (which is among the highest worldwide) followed closely … Continue reading →

Circular Economy: How to Create Sustainability and Active Presence for Companies?

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Patagonia, an American company, has launched a program called “Worn Wear” to promote its sustainable approach. The initiative encourages customers to repair or reuse their clothing instead of buying new pieces, by providing spare parts for clothes that need repair. Additionally, the company offers a special program for customers through its website, where they can send in their used Patagonia clothing and exchange it for points that can be used to purchase new items. The company also provides important tips for caring for and repairing clothes, as well as offering some used products for sale. Of course, there are several … Continue reading →

Food Waste Woes in Qatar

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Food waste is a huge issue in 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 than two kg per day from the … Continue reading →

How Green Campus Help Students to Save The Planet

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Although some people don’t agree that there is climate change, the subject is very real. Unfortunately, people who are bearing the full brunt of this situation are underdeveloped countries that experience flash floods, rising sea levels and droughts. There are other repercussions of climate change, such as food shortage due to severe droughts or floods and that increases the prices of basic needs in stores. Some college campuses have taken a stand against damaging the ecosystem and are helping save the planet. How are these green campus students accomplishing that? Here are methods that have been employed by green campuses … Continue reading →

The Menace of Landfills in Kuwait

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Kuwait, being one of the richest countries, is among the highest per capita waste generators in the world. Each year more than 2 million tons of solid waste in generated in the tiny Arab nation. High standards of living and rapid economic growth has been a major factor behind very high per capita waste generation of 1.4 to 1.5 kg per day. The prevalent solid waste disposal method in Kuwait is landfill burial. Despite being a small country, Kuwait has astonishingly high number of landfills. There are 18 landfills, of which 14 sites are closed and 4 sites are still … Continue reading →

Trash Talk from Gaza

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Solid waste management is considered to be one of the most severe environmental and civic problems in the Gaza Strip. Solid waste in the Gaza strip consists mainly of household waste, building debris, agricultural waste, industrial waste (mainly from worksites), medical wastes, and wastes from car workshops. Solid waste in the Gaza Strip is dumped in the same landfill without separation except for medical waste, which is dumped separately in the main Gaza landfill site. The solid waste generation rate varies between 0.35 to 1.0 kg/capita/day. Scale of the Problem Trash generation in the Gaza Strip varies between 830 to 894 tons/day … Continue reading →

Waste-to-Energy Outlook for Jordan

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A “waste crisis” is looming in Jordan with more than 2 million tons of municipal waste and 18,000 tons of industrial wastes being generated each year at an annual growth rate of 3 percent. Alarmingly, less than 5 per cent of solid waste is currently recycled in Jordan. These statistics call for a national master plan in order to reduce, manage and control waste management in the country. The main points to be considered are decentralized waste management, recycling strategy and use of modern waste management technologies. Currently there is no specific legal framework or national strategy for solid waste … Continue reading →