“If earth was an apartment, we wouldn’t be getting our security deposit back.” Jim Shubert
Urbanization altered the concept of human settlements and formed a space where populations could co-exist. While urbanization dates back to early Mesopotamia, the idea of living a “modern urban life” follows the Industrial Revolution. With the expansion of cities, populations, and economic activity, a societal and environmental challenge grew: Waste Management. Even though the severity of waste management on people differs between regions and countries, its significance is unquestionably imminent for societies, nature, and the future.
For countries in the Middle East (ME), waste management has become a rising challenge over the years. ME countries produce tremendous industrial and healthcare waste because of fast-growing populations, rapid urbanization, an increase in the foreign workforce, and industrial expansion. According to Rehan Ahmed, head of the Waste Disposal Unit of the Supreme Council for Environment in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the ME region produces the highest percentage of solid waste per capita worldwide, with more “than 150 million tons per annum”. This substantial number can result in severe implications on environmental resources and generate health issues. Countries in the ME face various obstacles when it comes to combating excessive waste, such as:
• Absence of public awareness
• Stakeholder involvement
• The gap in recycling facilities
• Lack of waste segregation
• High waste production
• Deficiency in organic waste utilization
• Scarce recycling facilities
Despite municipal and governmental efforts to solve this growing social/environmental problem, collecting and dumping waste in designated locations is insufficient to prevent health and environmental damage. Accumulated waste must be collected, divided, moved, and adequately curated, putting massive ecological, economic, and social pressure on responsible official parties. Many countries across the middle east, like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are shifting towards a zero-waste approach by promoting the 3R’s “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” and other composting techniques.
The 3R’s appeal
While there are many ways to tackle the waste crisis, the idea of a zero-waste approach consists of recreating a more sustainable production and distribution system that would prevent waste accumulation from ever existing in the first place. Zero-waste initiatives call for designing a new industrial process where producers take responsibility for their product even after its usage. For example, producers would be responsible for sending the product back to manufacturing for recycling, reuse, and repair to be sent back into the market. Therefore, products that cannot be recycled and reused would face certain legal restrictions. Under the zero-waste approach, governmental strategies consist of three main pillars that coincide with the 3Rs “Reducing, Reusing and Recycling.”
- The primary focus is on eliminating waste products from existing in the first place.
- The secondary focus is on promoting reusable products.
- The third focus is on recycling waste into valuable resources.
Organic Waste Recycling
Organic waste consists of biodegradable material that animals or plants produce. Compost waste such as food, pet food, cut flower, wood, and livestock manure is the perfect example of organic waste. One way to manage organic waste is by composting your waste. According to the Miller Recycling Corporation, composting filters and transforms organic waste into “nutrient-rich fertilizer.”
How does composting work?
Composting consists of a simple waste management system where your organic waste gets collected by the designated composting facility and then taken to composting streams. The composting process occurs once microorganisms feed on the organic waste and consume the oxygen. The final product becomes a moisture-like brown material later used as a plant fertilizer.
Companies of all sizes integrate sustainable and environment-friendly methods into their working environment. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that might not produce a high amount of organic waste can easily adopt composting as an environment-friendly disposal method. Following many European countries like Germany, Norway, Brazil, and Australia, companies in the Middle East are also taking the initiative to manage waste by constructing zero-waste plants. Today, the responsibility of achieving zero-waste falls on governmental authorities and calls on private corporations to activate their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
