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Waste Management Briefings from Oman
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Modern Landfills Beginning operations in 2011, the Al Multaqa engineered landfill in Al Amerat - originally built by Muscat Municipality - is the first engineered sanitary landfill in Oman. The landfill site, spread over 9.1 hectares, consists of five cells with a total capacity of 10 million m3 of solid waste. Each cell has 16 shafts to take care of leachate. All shafts are interconnected in order to facilitate movement of leachate to the leachate pump. The project is part of the government’s initiative to tackle solid waste in a scientific and environment-friendly manner. Being the first of its kind, Al Amerat landfill is expected to be an example for future solid Khasab waste management projects in Oman. Today, Be’ah operates four engineered landfills including Al Multaqa (Al Amerat), Tahwa (South Al Sharqiya), Izz (Al Dakhiliya) and Barka (South Al Batinah). More engineered landfills are being constructed and some are soon to be commissioned in: Operational
Sohar Al Buraimi Barka Ibri
Al Multaqa
Al Mudhaybi
Izz
Tahwa
Engineered Landfills Duqm
Upcoming
Thumrait
Transfer Stations Transfer stations are centralized facilities where waste is unloaded from smaller collection vehicles and re-loaded into larger vehicles for transport to a disposal or processing site. It is an engineered structured facility designed to receive mixed municipal waste from normal refuse collection vehicles and discharge it into large semitrailer trucks for more economical shipment to distant treatment or disposal sites. The facility is also designed to receive bulky waste including used tyres as well as construction and demolition waste that are handled separately by special containers and then transported to its final destination for processing or treatment Be’ah plans to establish 16 transfer stations in different locations across Oman.
Waste Diversion Strategy Be’ah has developed a diversion strategy that takes into account the nature of waste produced in Oman and its sources. The strategy calls for recycling facilities for different waste streams that will help maximize value and support Oman's economy through various in country value initiatives. A major national project is also in the planning stage to recover energy from waste which will then be used to power and run a desalination plant that will generate a substantial amount of much needed potable water. Ultimately, the diversion strategy aims to reduce the amount of waste disposed at landfills by utilizing waste for different purposes.
Challenges for Oman
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Opportunities for Oman
Oman’s existing waste collection, transfer and transport practices are often affected by improper bin use, poor route planning, lack of public information about waste collection schedules and the number of vehicles used for waste collection. Tenders - covering a 5 – 10 year period - have been issued to international waste collection operators for different regions. For example, Lisbon-based Suma through a consortium Suma Ecovision has begun waste collection for Al Sharqiya South, operating and managing transfer stations and landfill operations. Similarly, Urbaser a leading Spanish company specialized in waste management with international expertise provides services in South Al Batina. Furthermore, Veolia, a global waste management player, has won its first waste management contract in Oman. More outsource contracts will be awarded, whereby experienced international companies will provide municipal waste management services that include pre-collection, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal to cover Oman’s 11 governorates.
Underdeveloped Market for Recycled Products
Waste Management Contracts
In addition to low oil prices, a strong US dollar and a weakened Chinese economy, insufficient demand for recycled products in the Omani market has hampered the growth of the sultanate’s waste recycling industry. There are only a few organizations engaged in recycling waste paper, cardboard and plastics. Most recycled products are exported to India, Pakistan and other Southeast Asian countries.
Recently, government has awarded a number of contracts to the private sector to set-up and operate integrated waste management facilities or waste recycling units. However, opportunities in the sector are still largely untapped.
Attitudes to Waste Omani household attitudes towards waste generation, utilization, reuse and recycling are influenced by family size, level of education, GDP/c, gender, peer influence, location of household, waste collection service and awareness of environmental affairs. Social influences, altruistic and regulatory factors are some of the reasons why certain communities develop strong waste management, reuse and recycling habits. For example, people who frequently go to the bins to dispose of waste are more likely to recycle products at home and in most cases, as the distance to recycling bins decreases, the percentage of items separated and collected at home for recycling increases.
Recycling’s Down in the Dumps The economics of recycling are currently unfavorable. In many cases recycling waste is expensive compared to buying the product. With falling oil prices, a strong US dollar and a weakened Chinese economy it is cheaper for plastics companies to use new or virgin materials than recycle. Industry estimates suggest that 2,000 US municipalities are paying to dispose of their recyclables instead of the other way around.
Business Responsibility Responsibility for consumer-related recycling shouldn’t fall entirely to the Omani consumer. Oman-based manufacturers and retailers that sell unrecyclable packaging should also make a change. Businesses responsible for those sales need to step-up and take responsibility for financing collection and recycling of post-consumer packaging. More Oman-made products should be designed for longer lifetimes, be ready to be disassembled, repaired, reused and eventually recycled. Recycling should be routine in every Omani business. Less than 10% of all plastic is currently recycled in the GCC.
Plastic Problem Unfortunately, plastic is much more difficult to recycle than glass, aluminum or paper. A common problem with recycling plastics is they are often made up of more than one kind of polymer or there may be a fibre added to the plastic (a composite). Plastic polymers require greater processing to be recycled as each type melts at different temperatures and has different properties, so careful separation is necessary. Moreover, most plastics are not highly compatible with one another. Apart from familiar applications like recycling bottles and industrial packaging film, there are also new developments like covering pipes, window frames, roofing membranes and flooring.
Poor Professional Image Oman’s waste management industry will see significant growth as urbanization drives waste disposal needs. However, the industry suffers from a poor public image – this has to change if waste management is to attract the science and engineering graduates it clearly needs.
Waste Collection & Transportation Services Private players are active in Oman’s waste collection and transportation market. The government has plans to reduce the current 350 solid waste disposal sites to 10, this implies more distances between disposal sites and therefore would require more transportation to handle waste. There is good growth potential for such services in the market.
Management of Landfills At present, Be’ah manages Oman’s landfills. However, it is likely that new facilities will be built under BOOT or BOT contracts. With the large amount of MSW generated each day by Oman, there are considerable opportunities for waste management facilities.
Waste Equipment Suppliers As Oman re-invents its waste sector, opportunities will arise for the supply of waste handling equipment such as trucks, garbage bins, incinerators and other equipment.
Waste Water Treatment Facilities The current market for the GCC’s waste water treatment is estimated at US$2.2 billion and is forecast to reach US$4 billion by 2020, growing at a 10.6% CAR. The lack of specialized waste-water treatment facilities in Oman provides investors with a key business opportunity.
Waste Recycling Recycling of waste paper, cardboard, metal and glass is already practiced in GCC albeit on a small scale. However, as waste management practices become more efficient across the sultanate, waste recycling is likely to be more attractive commercially.
Waste-to-Energy (WTE) The high levels of waste generation per capita and the growing population rate of Oman provides a key opportunity for energy generation from waste. Reports have suggested that the WTE market will grow to between 300-500MW of power by 2020. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have already announced major plans in the WTE market.
Industrial Waste Facilities Given the high level of industrial activity in Oman and the lack of disposal options for industrial waste – currently industrial waste is stored on industrial estates. Be’ah estimates that in 2015, Oman had 1,360,000 tonnes of untreated industrial waste, approximately 90% of this - including slag - is generated in Sohar.