UAE Federal Government’s Minister Of Environment And Water Lauds Waste Recycling Efforts Of Bee’ah

Bee’ah’s material recovery facility the largest in the Middle East

The UAE’s Minister of Environment and Water, His Excellency Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, today visited state-of-the-art facilities at Bee’ah – the UAE’s leading integrated environment and waste management company – and was accompanied by Sultan Abdallah Elwan, Executive Director of External Auditing, Obaid Bin Essa Ahmad, Executive Director of Municipal Affairs, Salem Obaid Al Shamsy, President of the Sharjah Municipal Council, Engineer Sultan Abdalla Al Moalla, Head of Sharjah Municipality, and a number of officials and environmental specialists.

The visit took place at Bee’ah’s waste management facility in Al Saj’ah, Sharjah. The delegation toured the company’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF), Construction and Demolition Waste Recycling Facility (CDW), Compost Plant, Tyre Recovery Facility (TRF) and Al Saj’ah Landfill.

Bee’ah Chairman, H.E. Salim Bin Mohammed Al Owais, said the Minister complimented Bee’ah’s efforts on improving the standard of living in the UAE. Having visited the MRF – the largest in the Middle East (ME) and the third largest in the world – he was particularly impressed that all recyclable material sorted at the plant was put back into the regional economy for reuse. He also commented on Bee’ah’s TRF which is the first plant of its kind in the ME to use an environmentally friendly cryogenics process to transform old tyres into crumb rubber. The latter could be used in the flooring of parks, running tracks, show-horse arenas and many more.

H.E. Al Owais said the Minister added that the work Bee’ah was doing, reflected the massive evolution the Sharjah community was undergoing with regards to its idea of how to take care of the environment in which we all lived, and that he was looking forward to seeing Bee’ah lead and facilitate this transition in the rest of the UAE.

“We thank H.E. Dr. Bin Fahad, the Ministry of Environment and the Municipal Systems for visiting our facilities. We believe it cements Bee’ah’s reputation as the region’s leading environment and waste company. I believe our milestones to date have been achieved through a successful combination of the principles behind Bee’ah as a Public Private Partnership Environmental Company, the Sharjah Government’s commitment, our motivated staff and, very importantly, the emirate’s community,” H.E. Al Owais said.

Mr. Khaled Al Huraimel, General Manager of Bee’ah, said: “As a community partner, Bee’ah works with the Sharjah City Municipality to implement proven waste management and environmental solutions that are in line with international standards in order to educate, engage and raise awareness of improving the standard of living in the emirate.

“One of these solutions is our state-of-the-art Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at which 600 tons of household waste is processed each day. The MRF separates recyclable materials – including aluminium, paper and plastic – using highly advanced technology, practises and trained staff matching international standards. All collected material is recycled and put back into the regional economy for reuse.”

Mr. Al Huraimel added: “However, we believe that the environment doesn’t stop at the border and plan to move our programmes beyond Sharjah in the near future as well.

“We believe that the Minister’s visit is proof of not only our dedication to the Sharjah community’s wellbeing, but also to the environmental liberalisation of the UAE in general.”

Mr. Huraimel said that just as Sharjah fulfilled a unique leadership role on cultural and educational fronts, the emirate was also at the forefront of promoting green issues, which once again placed it as a leader in environmental responsibility in the ME.

“Bee’ah believes that this commitment – from both Bee’ah and the Sharjah Government – presents environmentally aware investors with blossoming opportunities in Sharjah and beyond,” he added.

Besides Bee’ah’s operational activities directly related to waste recovery and recycling, the Minister was also briefed on the company’s comprehensive educational outreach programmes, which were set to launch throughout the 2010/11 school year. The campaigns will be aimed at educating and engaging students to adopt a ‘greener lifestyle’. Bee’ah’s educational outreach programmes also complement the company’s current efforts such as environmental workshops and seminars tailor-made for businesses and the community at large.

On conclusion of the visit, the Minister signed a pledge card that was part of a Bee’ah World Environment Day initiative last year. By signing the card, Sharjah residents pledged their commitment to the environment by undertaking to practise the three green Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle.

H.E. Dr. Bin Fahad’s visit is not the first endorsement Bee’ah has been honoured to have received from a distinguished government representative. The Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, also toured Bee’ah’s facilities on World Environment Day last year.
 

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