The perfectly ‘EASY’ solution for urban waste management

By Suvarna Jeetandra – Managing Director, Blue Stream Environmental Technology

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 and environmentally friendly methods for waste segregation, collection, transfer and disposal. 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 capitalize on the growing Middle East urban infrastructure market.

“The Middle East is like no other place in the world and its waste management issues share quite the same story”
-Suvarna Jeetandra

Blue Stream Environmental Technology, a decade old waste solution provider has identified this growing trend and recently partnered with Nord Engineering s.n.c, Italy to bring the world's most advanced waste collection system to the Middle East. Blue Stream with operations both in UAE and India feels that the NORD EASY SYSTEM is the perfect answer for the waste management issues of the Middle East market. The collaboration between Blue Stream and Nord will launch an array of revolutionary urban waste management systems previously not available to the regional market. The NORD EASY SYSTEM is 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 to the loaded compactor. The system also offers a choice of over-ground container units, semi-underground container units as well as completely underground container units - all serviced by the same NORD EASY SYSTEM vehicle. The NORD EASY SYSTEM is also equipped with a Mobile Container Washing System that can completely clean and sanitize the container units. The Washing System is another extra ordinary aspect of NORD which makes it a truly next generation Waste Management System where the focus is not on just placing containers around the city to collect waste but also maintaining these containers as clean and user friendly civic infrastructure units. The washing cycle targets both the inside and the outside of the container giving it a thorough cleaning.

The NORD EASY SYSTEM functions with a Roll On – Roll Off mechanism for loading/off loading the compactor as well as loading/off loading the Mobile Container Washing Unit. This Roll On - Roll Off mechanism is one of the highlights of the system as the collection vehicle doesn't ever need to go to the dumping ground but instead can continue collection throughout the day non-stop. Every time a compactor is full the vehicle simply returns it to the compactor depot and picks up another empty compactor to continue the collection cycle. A regular Hook Lift Vehicle can then collect the full compactor from the depot and transport it to the disposal or recycling site. This way the collection is continuous, nonstop and much more economical in the long run. All the NORD container units are available in a variety of sizes from 3CBM to 7CBM, hence the flexibility for installation at any kind of part of the city – either the high rise building areas, the villa developments and even low to medium density areas. All NORD container units come with the flexibility of bright bold labeling for recycling containment as well. The general waste in the Middle East region is characterized with the presence of heavy liquid waste due to the consumption habits of the residents. This has created major issues for Municipal bodies as this liquid waste leaks out of the current containers to the ground - generating mal odor and presenting a ripe habitat of disease causing germs to procreate. To particularly counter this aspect, the Nord containers are designed with liquid waste / leachate collection tanks at the bottom of each of their container units. These leak proof tanks can hold up to 250Liters of liquid waste and offer the perfect solution to address the waste issues of the region. The system also has an optional side loader which can be used to accommodate existing DIN Compatible Containers from a capacity of 240L upto 1100L.

Nord's ongoing contract with the city of Barcelona has seen the implementation of 27,000 container units and over 55 collection 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 Europe. The current system around the Middle East is the standard DIN Lifting Mechanism which involve either front loading, rear loading or side loading. But with the heavy investment in infrastructure in the region, this 40 year old system will slowly be replaced by revolutionary systems like the NORD which offer both over-ground and under-ground waste management without any of the hassles of other systems. For example the current crop of steel and plastic waste containers come at a major annual maintenance cost to the Municipalities due to damage to the wheels and other aspects of the container. These damages are primarily because these containers are mobile and the residents reposition them around parking areas delaying and disturbing the Municipal Collection Cycles. The NORD Container Units on the other hand have no wheels and are completely immobile, hence the annual maintenance on these units is almost nil; this stands true even for the underground systems which have no hydraulic parts at all. The NORD SYSTEM is simply a much better system which offers maximal cost effectiveness for the long term.

The versatility of the NORD EASY SYSTEM allows collection of containers from either side of the vehicle upto a distance of 5m from the center of the equipment. The system also facilitates container collection from across parked cars which is a amazing positive for heavy and dense city areas where waste containers usually compromise parking spaces. The collection time and washing time is also one of the shortest in the industry at about 1min and this enables rapid collection from the busiest parts of the city with minimal traffic congestion. Blue Stream and Nord are targeting the growing metropolises around the Middle East with this system especially Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah, Muscat, Manama etc. The system's unique adaptability to regular waste collection as well as recyclable waste collection is a very attractive option for cities that are looking to implement recycling programs in the near future. With the growing number of preplanned cities in development around the Middle East – the NORD – Easy System now offers Municipalities, Communities, Professional architects, consultants, engineers and other city builders, an incredibly versatile, modern and practical solution for waste management in any kind of urban or industrial setup.

Suvarna Jeetandra – Managing Director, Blue Stream Environmental Technology L.L.C, U.A.E & Eco N!rvana Technologies, India

With over 35 years in the Middle East and a direct involvement in the waste management industry of the region, Suvarna Jeetandra is an expert in urban environmental development and civic waste infrastructure. His experience extends beyond simple operational aspects into design features of city scapes, stressing the importance of the "human touch" in modern waste management technology.