Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Dubai: Dubai Municipality has launched the second stage of the electro-hydraulic underground waste container project in the Souk Al Kabeer area of Bur Dubai to collect waste in huge underground containers which can store up to 25 tonnes of waste.
Salah Amiri, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality said that “The move came as part of Dubai Municipality’s committed efforts to develop new methods to tackle waste management issues in the city”.
He added that the first stage of this project was launched in Souk Naif in June 2012.
Abdul Majeed Saifaee, Director of the Waste Management Department, said the department hopes to solve the entire waste related issues in the next few years.
He explained that once all the nine units are put in different areas in Dubai, the department will be able to remove around 2,000 garbage trolleys from around the city. He added that will help eliminate the bad smell, save time, energy and money that the municipality spends in the transportation process of the regular waste disposal system.
Yaqoob Al Ali, who works for the Waste Management Department, said the initiative has been executed in collaboration with Intercare Company. “The total cost of the project is estimated as Dh10 million,” he said.
“Containers are compact with one-metre height and can accommodate 25 tonnes of garbage. Most of them will be placed in areas where there are more old buildings without proper chute system for collecting waste,” Al Ali said.
He added that cleaners in nearby buildings are requested to deposit the garbage from buildings at the new underground units.
He said that in case of a technical issue a “signal that passes to the department units in case of any technical issues helps to solve the issues immediately.”
THE TECHNOLOGY
The compactors that are fitted on a hydraulic lift are buried underground with only a large waste bin visible at ground level. This waste bin does not have a bottom plate and is connected to an underground chute that delivers waste into a compactor.
This chute, as it fills, triggers a magic eye that opens a lower flap thus allowing the built-up waste to enter the compactor. Once inside, another cycle begins and the waste is compacted to a 4:1 ratio.
Once the waste reaches a certain compacted volume, a signal is sent to the Municipality advising on the time left before the compactor needs to be removed for emptying and replaced with another empty one.
The raising and replacement cycle takes less than 10 minutes before being ready to be returned to use again.
Staff Report
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