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Perspective on Plastics Waste Management

Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun Secretary General, Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) sadoun@gpca.org.ae. Perspective on Plastics Waste Management. Meeting w/ UAE Ministry of Environment & Water. Dubai; Monday April 28, 2013. Agenda. Plastics Waste Management

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Perspective on Plastics Waste Management

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  1. Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun Secretary General, Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) sadoun@gpca.org.ae Perspective on Plastics Waste Management Meeting w/ UAE Ministry of Environment & Water Dubai; Monday April 28, 2013

  2. Agenda • Plastics Waste Management • GPCA’s Initiatives • The Plastic Bags – Disposal Issue & Solutions • Our Perspectives 9

  3. Plastics Waste Management Economic PerspectiveKuznet’s Curve on Economic Growth Vs. Environmental Quality Good Developed Environment Quality Emerging Developing Bad Medium High Low Income Per Capita Source: World Bank 3

  4. Plastics Waste Management Per capita Solid Waste Generation in the GCC is among the highest globally growing at a rate of 10%, the highest on a global level. MSW Generation (in Kgs) per person per year Percent of Plastic Waste Growth Rate (%) Size of the bubble corresponds to the MSW generation in Million Tons. Source: Frost & Sullivan - 2011 4

  5. Plastics Waste Management 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 Evolution of Waste Management Services Anaerobic Digestion Biogas Waste Gasification Integrated Waste Solutions Energy from Wastewater Municipal Solid Waste Hazardous Waste Cogeneration (CHP) WEEE Recycling Battery Waste Recycling Biological Waste to Energy Biomass Sewage Sludge Fluidised Bed Technology Mixed Waste Treatment Separation At Source Grate Technology ‘Value’ Recovery Agricultural Waste Village Electrification from Waste Biofuels Waste Management Waste to Energy Waste to Revenue Waste to Value 5

  6. Plastics Waste Management – The GCC Perspective Plastic Waste Management .. The disposal options! 6

  7. Plastics Waste Management – The GCC Perspective The Plastics disposal options .. Opportunities and challenges • Efficient & low carbon way (Recycling 1 ton of PET saves 1.5 tons of CO2) • Reduces reliance on virgin material Most Eco Friendly • Global WTE market at $3.5 billion • 400 plants in Europe & 100 in Japan, US 89, Asia 70 • GCC with highest per capita waste generation is promising but cheap fossil fuel and low landfill rates are deterrent! Recycling Waste to Energy • Predominantly used method, particularly in the developing countries • Water Contamination due to leachate • Landfill gases contributing to global warming Landfilling Least Eco Friendly 7

  8. Plastics Waste Management – The GCC Perspective GCC Solid Waste is large and growing steadily .. Saudi Arabia and the UAE account for > 80% of total regional municipal solid waste! GCC Waste Generation ~ 80 Million Tons GCC MSW Waste Generation ~ 26 Million Tons Construction & Demolition Waste Municipal Solid Waste Industrial Waste Source: Frost & Sullivan - 2011 8

  9. Plastics Waste Management – The GCC Perspective Plastics waste in the GCC Solid Waste range from 5% in Saudi Arabia to 15% in Qatar … Composition indicates huge potential for recycling Substantial Percent of Waste is Organic and Recyclables Recycling Rate including that of Plastics is as low as 10% Value Recovery through Recycling, is yet to be tapped in GCC Source: Frost & Sullivan - 2011 9

  10. Plastics Waste Management – The GCC Perspective LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE Plastics disposal in the GCC .. the “Pushing” and “Pulling” forces Mapping of Forces Concerted Efforts concerning ‘3R’ DEGREE OF STRENGTH 1 Growing population 5 High 3 1 2 Changing lifestyles with increasing purchase power 3 PUSHING FORCES 5 2 1 Urban Infrastructure improvements 3 4 4 4 Adoption of sustainable economic growth 2 Acceptance of Food-grade Recycled PET 5 ‘Reduce’ Cut down ‘Waste’ ‘Reuse’ Use repeatedly ‘Recycle’ Utilize again as resources Weak Strong 1 Lack of sorting & segregation facilities Low public awareness 2 PULLING FORCES Absence of regulations & poor implementation 3 Limited domestic demand for recycled plastic, ample fossil fuels, cheap landfill rates 4 Low 5 Institutional capacity constraints Source: Frost & Sullivan, 2011 10

  11. Agenda • Plastics Waste Management • GPCA’s Initiatives • “Clean Up the Gulf” Campaign • “Community Awareness” • The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Solutions • Our Industry Perspectives 9

  12. GPCA’s Initiatives – “Clean Up the Gulf” • launched in Feb. 27, 2013 across 6 cities in the GCC (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Rabigh, Al-Jubail, and Kuwait), • Designed to highlight issues associated with “waste management” and “littering”, and the need for the community to unite and respond to this environmental problem. • In Dubai, the campaign was inaugurated by HE Dr. Rashid Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment & Water • In the UAE alone, 800 people collected over 2 tons of waste in three hours. • Recyclable materials made up 35% of the waste collected in Dubai and was recycled by a Dubai based company. Kuwait Jubail Abu Dhabi Dubai Riyadh Rabigh 12

  13. GPCA’s Initiatives – “Clean Up the Gulf” 13

  14. GPCA’s Initiatives – “Clean Up the Gulf” 14

  15. GPCA’s Initiatives – “Clean Up the Gulf” 15

  16. GPCA’s Initiatives – “Community Awareness” • GPCA collaborated with INJAZ UAE to reach 500 Emirati students (aged 17-22) through a series of 8 Community Citizenship workshops during the academic year 2012-2013. • The workshops highlight Anti-littering as a theme and raise awareness about recycling and the responsible disposal of waste. • To date, 5 well-attended workshops have been conducted with the remaining 3 scheduled to be completed by the end of May 2013. • The workshops have highlighted the low awareness among the students of the waste management strategy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover. 16

  17. Agenda • Plastics Waste Management • GPCA’s Initiatives • “Clean Up the Gulf” Campaign • “Community Awareness” • The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Alternatives • Our Industry Perspectives 9

  18. The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Alternatives • Plastic bags littering is a growing concern to all of us in the GCC Region 18

  19. The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Alternatives • Plastics waste present as debris in the marine environment is also a growing concern .. UN Studies concluded that land-based sources account for up to 80% of the world’s marine pollution of all types!! 19

  20. The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Solutions • Is it right to deprive our community from the use of the most versatile, cost effective product, because we cannot responsibly manage waste?

  21. The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Solutions The solutions do exist… The solution to plastic litter is not to damn plasticIt’s disposal in a responsible way – reuse, recycle, recover!

  22. The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Solutions Impact of plastics bags on CO2 emissions • According to studies conducted by the UK • Environment Agency, HDPE Plastic Bags • are “greener” than supposedly low impact • Choices (paper and cotton bags) : • HDPE bags are, for each use, almost 200 times less damaging to the environment than cotton and paper bags • HDPE bags also have less than one third of the CO2 emissions than multi-uses paper and cotton bags • Source: Independent on Sunday; February 20th , 2011. The role of plastics bags does not deserve any negative discrimination ! 22

  23. The Plastic Bags – The Disposal Issue & Solutions The oxo-biodegradable .. Is it an appropriate answer to the littering problem ?? And why not?? Why ? • It give a false perception that littering is OK “as the bag will dissolve away”. • Lack of public understanding of the chemicals used to oxy-degrade plastics, the length of time needed to break up the plastics particles or what is left in the environment after degradation. Focus on 4 Rs : • Reduce: Bio-Degradable plastics risk to increase plastic bags consumption. Advanced plastics technologies allow plastics converters to reduce plastics use by 10-30%. • Re-Use: Bio-Degradable plastic bags are thin and not designed for reuse. A better environmental solution is a thicker, stronger bags that can be re-used, economically recycled and not be carried by the wind. • Recycle: Bio-Degradable Plastics bags can not be recycled. • Recover: Energy contained in plastic will be wasted. Plastics should be recycled into useful products and at the end of their useful life, the energy should be recovered.. 23

  24. Our Industry Perspective Plastics provide essential societal benefits, and sustainable solutions In the GCC, the existing “littering” culture combined with “insufficient recycling capacity” is a growing concern. Plasticlitterin any environment is unacceptable A multifaceted approach is needed to address the challenges abound: • Legislations have to be framed aimed at “resource recovery” through “recycling” • Collaboration between the Industry, the EnvironmentalGroups and Governments to proactively manage the end of life issues with plastics • Education of the public to appreciate the benefits of plastics and to understand the need to reduce, re-use, recycle and re-cover 24

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