The cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, have seen a significant increase in migrants from the smaller cities and also from rural parts of Saudi Arabia as well as from different countries in the world. As a result, the country as a whole is seeing at developments, infrastructure wise and technology wise. There are great infrastructural facilities being provided to support the growing industrialisation. As a part and parcel of development, there are few problems that every government and civilization has to go through, and that is waste management. There are serious issues being faced for waste management in Saudi Arabia.
The increase in population is always a great contributor to the increase in pollution and waste generation. As a result, waste management in Saudi Arabia is becoming a great concern for people and for the government and the authorised local bodies. Saudi Arabia is looking at the countries that have faced a similar issue in past. There are a lot of things that Saudi Arabia can look into as a measure to have cost-effective and efficient waste management:
- Break down the waste: Many landfills are expected to reach its maximum capacity. This is a cry, loud and clear, that the waste must reduce to accommodate more garbage that is going to be produced in the future. Without a doubt, the most efficient way to dispose of waste is to reduce waste. Waste can be reduced by reusing products. It is still an early stage for Saudi Arabia to implement a solid system for recycling and reusing waste. Let us have a look at the several ways waste can be reduced:
A. Active involvement of the residents and the local bodies can set up a system where the waste generated at the primary sources, that is, at households and commercial spaces is treated and either reused or converted to compost.
B. Educating at the primary level about how waste can be managed, can also be undertaken actively and seriously. Educating the people and providing them facilities such as compost box, organising up waste recycling camps at a community level would definitely be of great help.
C. Waste segregation mechanism: The local body that is responsible for garbage collection and disposal should have a waste segregation process before the garbage is taken to the landfill. This will help in reducing waste. - A way to adopt smart waste management in Saudi Arabia: Waste management system in Saudi Arabia is very brief, the waste is picked up from the bins and taken to the dump yard. This needs to be more organised. The local authorities can have smart garbage trucks that come with a tracking system, a waste segregation mechanism, silent road movement. Such garbage trucks are fuel efficient, need fewer efforts in management. Thus reducing fuel cost and bringing in fuel efficiency and reducing emissions and therefore pollution.
- Involve external body for waste management: Waste management is a challenge to every country’s government along with many other challenges. It might not be possible for the government to handle everything and hence, involving an external body that expertise in waste management is the right option. There are some waste management companies in Saudi Arabia that can be considered to get them involved in the waste management process. These companies have a trained man force and technologically enabled a mechanism that involves sophisticated processes to pick up waste, segregate waste. These companies also have several subsidiaries or organisations associated with them that may take some products from the waste collected, process it and manufacture different products out of it. Employing such companies is one of the most successful ways many cities and countries have adopted and been extremely successful in recycling and reusing otherwise waste products. The best example of this approach is the whole process of waste management in Dubai.
To manage waste effectively, strong legislation, financial support from the government, among the people, using modern technology are the key features. To support a great nation grow, waste management is a strong factor and deserves to be paid attention to.
