Abu Dhabi plans to stop sending waste to landfill by 2071

Proposal by Environment Agency Abu Dhabi will see the emirate become the world's leader in environmental conservation

Abu Dhabi’s recycling station at Khalidiya. The emirate is trying to encourage more people to go green. Victor Besa / The National

Sunil Thawani, an Al Khalidiya resident does his part in recycling his trash during the opening of the first civic amenity in Abu Dhabi to promote waste segregation at source. Victor Besa / The National

Rubbish is sorted at the Bee'ah Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National

Some of 120 separators, look for aluminum , plastic, paper and cardboard, amidst garbage traveling on a conveyer belt in Bee'ah's Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National

Bales of aluminum inside Bee'ah's Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National

A truck dumps waste at the Material Recovery Facility during its opening ceremony in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Shruti Jain The National

View of the garbage at the Material Recovery Facility during its opening ceremony in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Shruti Jain The National

Sonia Nasser explains how waste is segregated at the recycling facility in Ras Al Khaimah. Shruti Jain / The National

Household waste that can be recycled is separated by hand at RAK's sorting plant. It is hoped an education drive and financial incentives will get residents to separate their own waste and packaging and deliver it to drop-off points. Shruti Jain / The National

A landfill site in Dubai. Christopher Pike and Pawan Singh / The National

Abu Dhabi has plans to ensure no waste is sent to landfill after 2071.

The zero waste proposal, made on Thursday at an online roundtable discussion on Abu Dhabi’s conservation plans, is part of the emirate’s Environmental Centennial 2071, a 50-year timetable launched by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

Officials said they planned to use satellite technology to track the location of waste, open sorting centres that use artificial intelligence to separate waste from recyclables and use unmanned vehicles to clean the emirate’s streets.

They said they hoped the ­target could be met before 2071.

Tadweer - Abu Dhabi's Centre for Waste Management - keeps the emirate's cities clean. Victor Besa / The National

“Our ambition is to become zero waste in all of our cities,” Sara Al Mazrouei, lead analyst for performance with the agency, said at the event.

"Maybe we will do it before, maybe we will do it after, depending on the action plans and when we will start implementing them.

“We can say by 2050 or maybe before we would like to be zero waste.”

Much of the waste generated across the UAE currently ends up in landfill. In Abu Dhabi about 30 per cent of waste generated is currently recycled or composted but authorities are tying to ramp up this amount.

Tadweer – Abu Dhabi's Centre for Waste Management – is aiming to divert 80 per cent of waste from landfills by 2030.

And the new proposals follow other initiatives in Abu Dhabi over the past few years to boost recycling, encourage sustainability and protect the environment.

More recycling stations have been built, a ban on single-use plastic bags is coming in June, while the EAD said it plans to gradually reduce the amount of single-use plastic products in the emirate and encourage the use of reusable products.

Authorities said they will also implement measures to reduce demand for about 16 single-use plastic products, including cups, stirrers, lids and cutlery.

It will also phase out single-use styrofoam cups, plates and food containers by 2024.

The EAD's 50-year plan, meanwhile, aims to make Abu Dhabi the world’s best in environmental conservation. More information about the strategy is expected soon.

How Abu Dhabi turns construction waste into stone for the UAE's roads - in pictures

The Ghayathi crusher in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi. All photos by Victor Besa / The National

About 2,000 tonnes of construction waste are recycled every day here.

The 60-metre long crusher turns huge stones into gravel that can be used on the country's roads.

The waste travels on a magnetic conveyer belt where any metals or contaminated material is removed.

The material is sold for use in infrastructure projects.

From left: Mohannad Raouf, plant manager; Khalid Al Khanbashi, Khalid Al Khanbashi, senior waste officer at Tadweer; and Ahmed Nour Gamil, operations director.

The material is screened to ensure it has been crushed to the right size – between 0 and 37.5mm.

All stone from construction sites and demolished buildings in Al Dhafra is recycled, reused and sold to boost the economy.

Previously the waste was brought to landfill, which damaged the environment.

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste this year could be processed at the plant.

The crusher is part of Tadweer's plant to limit waste and pollution and encourage industrial recycling.