UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment recently launched National Waste Database in order to channelize and to efficiently manage the waste of the country. The database is designed to compile data on waste generation and connects to relevant authorities for its management.

Quite often we use the same dustbin for dumping all of our waste. Segregating waste is one of the main primary challenges of waste management. The bilingual database gathers data on hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

Hazardous waste includes industrial, medical, animal and other waste while non-hazardous waste includes sewage waste, construction, agriculture etc.

Director of the ministry’s Waste Management Department, Yousuf Al Ahmad Al Raisi, said: “The success of an integrated waste management programme depends on the availability of valid waste data. Previously, the ministry faced the challenge of timely collection and accuracy of such data, and therefore suggested establishing a database for waste produced in the country at the annual meeting of the UAE Government in 2017.”

The data collected in the database not only will ensure proper management but will also help in determining the course of action for improving the waste regulation and treatment. The evaluation of the amount of treated waste can also be inferred from the data and dynamic reports can be built on that.

Al Raisi added: “The UAE Vision 2021 aims to implement sustainable practices across diverse industries. In line with this priority, effective waste management can considerably improve the sustainability of the country’s environment and economy.”

Waste management is one of the crucial factors in determining the economic growth of the country. The more waste treated will result in slowing the pace of a country’s resource depletion. Recycling and converting waste into another useful form using relevant technologies adds to the environmental quotient of a country.

Managing waste is a key to saving the environment, especially our seas which sadly, have become the dumping ground for all our garbage.