The UAE has ambitious sustainability goals. By 2050, over £122 billion will be invested in clean-energy projects, and local governments are taking extensive measures to ensure a smooth transition to zero-waste practices. Last year, the world’s largest e-waste recycling facility was opened in Dubai, and the region’s first food-grade PET recycling plant will soon be opened in Abu Dhabi to divert 75% of waste away from landfills. In just one decade, the UAE has reached the forefront of sustainable waste management initiatives and, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, investment in the environmental sector hasn’t stopped.
However, the UAE’s road to its zero-waste objective is not without challenges. Apart from funding and infrastructure development, the region will also need to address awareness, which remains a major problem, especially in the commercial sector.
Every year, the UAE produces over 11 million tonnes of waste, and a significant chunk of this waste (33%) is generated at the workplace. Last month, the Dubai Chamber organised a public webinar on the topic of sustainability, and the findings revealed major hurdles in the race to sustainability at the workplace.
Of the 35 private businesses that took part in the webinar, many expressed their concern regarding sustainability, explaining that they encountered at least one obstacle, whether that was in waste separation, collecting, transport, or finding a waste management provider.
The biggest challenges of managing waste at the workplace in the UAE
Despite the growing number of specialised recycling facilities in the UAE, most waste still ends up in the landfill. Of the 11 million tonnes of waste generated in the region, a whopping 80% goes to the landfill, and 25% of that amount is generated by businesses and communities.
According to a recent survey, 59% of businesses in the UAEs struggle with waste sorting, 30% with recycling, and 11% with collection.
Successful waste management starts with proper waste sorting and, even though office workers have the best interests at heart, sometimes their efforts lead to more harm than good. More specifically, these are the mistakes that prevent UAE businesses from recycling properly:
- Workers don’t know exactly what can and cannot be recycled. For example, plastic wrap and packing peanuts cannot be recycled because it can clog up recycling machinery. Also, shredded paper, which is extremely common in offices, is often rejected by recycling facilities or costs extra to be accepted.
- Recyclable materials are contaminated. If plastic, paper, glass, and cardboard items are contaminated with food remains or hazardous substances, the entire lot is rejected. Contamination has become particularly problematic in the past few months, when the amount of single-use PPE items has increased significantly. Authorities are reminding citizens that masks and gloves should not be placed in recycling bins.
To make sure employees recycle correctly, companies should offer them enough recycling bins, signal them correctly and, ideally, establish a green team to answer the staff’s recycling questions. You can also make fact sheets explaining what office items can and cannot be recycled and place them next to the recycling bins.
But even perfectly sorted, non-contaminated waste can become a challenge, especially when it’s in high quantities. Paper and cardboard, for example, take up a lot of space, making it difficult for businesses to store it in a way that doesn’t affect productivity. One solution for this is using compactors for recycling. These specialised machines pack waste tightly, whether it’s paper, cardboard, or plastic, saving a lot of storage space. When waste is stacked neatly, the workplace is cleaner and employees don’t have to worry about avoiding piles of waste when doing their daily tasks. On average, compacted waste occupies 20 times less space than non-compacted waste. Again, there’s the matter of contamination. When waste is stored in traditional containers, it can easily spill and become contaminated. In the worst cases, it can attract pests, which opens the door to many health & safety accidents.
From a financial standpoint, waste compactors are a great investment. In a post-COVID era, many businesses are worried that investing in extra machinery would put a strain on their budget, but it’s actually the other way around. In time, compactors pay for themselves because they save up to 50% on waste collection services and landfill taxes.
The basics of a circular workplace
If the UAE is to reach its sustainability target by 2030, businesses need to be an important part of the picture. And while recycling is crucial, it’s not the only effort that needs to be done. For sustainable results, the entire workplace needs to be circular and meet these modern requirements:
- Sustainable buildings.When building or renting new offices, business owners should make sure that the building is made with non-toxic materials obtained from ethical sources. At the same time, buildings should be designed to last. If the furniture already needs replacement after two years, that’s not good for the environment.
- Modular office furniture. When one part of the furniture breaks, you needn’t buy a new item – just refurbish or replace the malfunctioning part. This way, not only are you saving time and money, but also helping the environment.
- REDUCE. Reusing and recycling are important, but the first step of the circular economy is to reduce. So, rethink all the items that are used in the workplace and see if there are more sustainable alternatives. For example, if you’re still using paper cups and plates, encourage employees to bring their own cups from home. Instead of printing documents, use digital copies and collaboration tools instead. The average employee uses over 10,000 sheets of paper every year, which is less compared to previous years, but still too much. In the age of digitalisation, you can achieve more efficiency by using digital tools.
Positive changes cannot be achieved overnight, but collective effort is required to make UAE workplaces eco-friendly. Despite the pandemic, we can still make small, measurable changes that have a major impact in the long run.