Recycling wasteby | 09-05-2016 20:37 |
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 Almost a third of the world?s food for human consumption, about 1.3 billion tonnes, is lost or wasted each year. But the good news is that all kinds of food, from half-eaten pizza slices, fruit peels to paper and other organic waste are being churned into water and fertiliser to help keep the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club green and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Leftover food from staff cafeterias and other rubbish is fed into a machine that dehydrates it into compost, which is then ploughed back into landscaped areas. By recycling waste on site, the pilot project is aimed at cutting the amount of rubbish sent to landfill and came as Dubai Municipality announced plans to increase charges for companies dumping unsorted waste. The main concept is to recycle at origin so food from a plate at the restaurant does not stay for days in a bin mixed with other garbage awaiting transport. In the eco station, previously called the waste room, workers recheck large green bins to ensure metal, cans and glass are not mixed with organic waste before loading the machine. There are plans to expand the project to all restaurants and hotel kitchens across the club to make it the first residential and commercial community to use organic compost from unused food on its property. Water from the recycling process is used on pot plants, villa gardens, date palms and to wash equipment and bins. On the golf course, the club uses treated effluent water from the municipality. Another long-term goal is to replace chemical fertiliser with organic compost from the recycling unit. Unlike other composters, the machine uses a dehydration process with the steam emitted captured as water. The municipality has called for innovations to reduce pressure on the emirate?s sole public landfill in Al Qusais. Food and organic waste composting is an important step we all need to take together to make a difference. More such projects are needed because of regulation to encourage recycling. The Government cannot do everything so each commercial entity will have to create change. Source The National
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