A fast paced evolution

Suvarna Jeetandra gives the low-down on the waste management sector and explains the impact of new technologies on the growing Middle East urban infrastructure market.

“With the growing number of preplanned cities in development around the Middle East - municipalities, communities, professional architects, consultants, engineers and other city builders are now actively researching the most incredibly versatile, modern and practical solution for waste management in any kind of urban or industrial setup”
-Suvarna Jeetandra

Urban waste management is one of the most essential aspects of modern living. With the growing 'green consciousness' among global citizens, waste management has now taken an unprecedented position at leading municipalities and communities around the world. The rapid momentum of recycling efforts have furthered the cause for more sophisticated, humane, practical, cost effective and environmentally friendly methods for waste segregation, collection, transfer and disposal.

With the growing number of preplanned cities in development around the Middle East -  municipalities, communities, professional architects, consultants, engineers and other city builders are now actively researching the most incredibly versatile, modern and practical solution for waste management in any kind of urban or industrial setup. A solution that combines all kinds of modern waste management technology, including modernised over-ground containers, state-of-the-art underground containers as well as semi-underground containers, the collection system must be able to adapt to the various parts of the city including high rise areas, villa localities as well as medium to low rise areas all with varying population density levels. The new system must also be designed understanding the constitution of the waste in the region which contains a lot of leachate or liquid waste. This is cause of major concern among municipal authorities as they try to prevent this liquid waste from leaking to the ground from existing container units. A mobile washing plant which can thoroughly clean and sanitise these containers on a regular basis is also an essential part of the urban demand for responsible waste management.

The young cities of the Middle East such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Muscat, Riyadh, Jeddah etc are now going through a rapid wave of modernisation especially in public infrastructure and the municipalities are actively seeking ways to replace the traditional standard DIN Lifting Mechanism, which involve either front loading, rear loading or side loading systems. This 40-year-old system will slowly be replaced by revolutionary technology that will offer the city a much needed waste systems revamp. The change will be towards a more cost effective and long-term economical solution that can slowly be expanded to include recycling and other green initiatives of the local authorities.

Blue Stream Environmental Technology, a decade old regional waste solution provider has identified this growing trend and recently partnered with Nord Engineering s.n.c, Italy to bring the NORD EASY SYSTEM to the Middle East. The NORD EASY SYSTEM is one such system that offers an integrated waste management setup that includes a single person operated waste collection vehicle equipped complete with robotic lifting arms for emptying containers from the street on the truck mounted compactor. Nord's ongoing contract with the city of Barcelona has seen the implementation of 27,000 container units and over 55 collection vehicles and adequate number of washing vehicles. The Barcelona Authorities are extremely pleased with the NORD System and are openly recommending it to their sister cities across Middle East and Europe. The system is unique in the sense that it is one of the only systems to offer a completely integrated urban waste management solution, tailor designed for the region which includes all kinds of over-ground, under-ground and semi-underground container units collected with the same vehicle with all containers designed to hold up to 250 litres of liquid waste, and with a completely mobile state-of-the-art washing plant. The system boasts one of the shortest collection times in the industry with incredibly reduced container maintenance costs compared to current systems and since both the compactor and the washing unit are designed as roll on/roll off systems this is blessing to the logistics issues of the municipality.

The Middle East is like no other place in the world and its waste management issues share quite the same story. A custom designed solution for this region is the need of the hour and any waste systems provider with the ingenuity to comprehend this can capitalise on the growing Middle East urban infrastructure market.

Suvarna Jeetandra is Managing Director of Blue Stream Environmental Technology L.L.C, UAE and Eco N!rvana Technologies, India. With over 35 years in the MENA region and a direct involvement in the waste management industry, Jeetandra is an expert in urban environmental development and civic waste infrastructure.