Experts say a huge fire at a landfill in Sharjah last week has highlighted the need to sort and properly handle waste - a process that has yet to catch on in the UAE.
The massive blaze that engulfed the Al Saja'a dump on June 6 is said to have been caused by a spark from a chemical reaction between components of the dump.
The fire was widespread, taking more than 10 hours to contain after the initial flames fed on large amounts of household waste, chemical substances and rubber.
Reinhard Goeschl, director general of the Emirates Environmental Technology (EET), said the UAE's existing landfills were a volatile mix of waste and were often located dangerously close to human habitation.
"These landfills release gases and can leak chemicals into the ground water," he warned.
Methane and other vapours released by decomposing waste is flammable, which paired with the presence of electronics and other 'live' waste can spark a fire.
Goeschl has urged the UAE to have all its existing landfill remediated to prevent any risks to human health from mismanaged and neglected waste dumps.
Remediation involves the excavation of an existing landfill, where all remaining waste is sorted according to its content and sensitivity.
The waste is then deposited in a protected area to pre vent any damage to the environment, with special measures undertaken for toxic or dangerous agents.
The Sharjah Municipality has already received EET advice to remediate the massive landfill located outside University City, with the hopes of making it fit for human habitation in due time.
The project, involving some seven million cubic metres of waste, is the biggest of its kind ever undertaken in the world.
Following the fire, Sharjah Municipality has also appointed a company to provide specialised high-pollution firefighting services at its landfills.
Dubai has also recently come on board for more specialised handling of waste.
Residents of the Emirate are asked to deposit all computer waste with the Dubai Municipality to prevent the systems, which contain toxic metals and gases, from harming the environment.
The discarded computers will be repaired and upgraded, and will then be donated to schools and charities both within and outside the UAE, with the help of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Foundation.
Abu Dhabi is also reportedly working on new waste handling protocols in accordance with a decree made in August 2005 by the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Its scope covered the possible set up of an effective system to handle electronic waste, though no such system has been formalised yet.
By Zarina Khan
© Emirates Today 2006
