Abu Dhabi to invest Dh1 billion in smart waste management system

Abu Dhabi is to spend more than Dh1 billion on a super high-tech waste management system in which smart bins can contact refuse collectors when they need to be emptied.

The Center of Waste Management Abu Dhabi, also known as Tadweer, the Arabic word for “recycling”, announced on Monday that it has signed contracts worth Dh1.1bn to cover collecting rubbish, street sweeping and cleaning.

According to the deal, 4,236 people and 650 vehicles will be employed collecting the 1.7 million tonnes of rubbish produced in Abu Dhabi emirate each year.

Sharjah Environment Company (Bee’ah), Averda Waste Management, and Lavajet Abu Dhabi – Nael and Bin Harmal Hydro-export Establishment, will provide some of the most technologically advanced waste collection and transportation, street sweeping and cleaning services in the world.

As part of the new services, Tadweer says that it will use technologically advanced rubbish bins which use energy from the sun to compact waste.

Bins in areas with high levels of waste will have smart chips and sensors hidden inside them so that they can send a message asking to be emptied.

Tadweer said that an electronic weighing system will be adopted in waste collection vehicles to determine the amount of waste generated at the source.

Each bin will have a unique electronic code provided by the smart chip so that it can be tracked and indicate how much waste has been collected.

Tadweer also signed contracts worth Dh140 million with Eagle Environment Services and Pest Control, Akar Landscaping Services and Agriculture, and Prime Tech Diversified Contracting to provide pest control services to the emirate by controlling insects and impounding stray dogs, cats and camels.

“Signing these new contracts comes in line with Tadweer’s vision of being recognised as a world leader in building sustainable integrated waste management and pest control systems by 2030,” said Eisa Al Qubaisi, Tadweer’s general manager.

Tadweer will distribute more than 120,000 green bins for recycling and black bins for general waste.

A report released at last October’s Eco-Waste conference organised by Masdar showed that waste generated in the UAE will increase by close to 30 per cent from 6.6 million tonnes a year to 8.4 million tonnes by 2017.

lbarnard@thenational.ae

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Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

India squads

Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.

T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.

ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh

The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali

Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km

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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019

American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.

Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.

In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.

The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.

"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.