As part of the Year of Sustainability and World Environment Day, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) organised a workshop on ‘Empower Optimised Waste Management and Encourage a Circular Economy’, which was hosted by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

This workshop highlighted the legislative and regulatory role of EAD in the waste sector and its five-year strategy (2021-2025), which integrates with other policies such as the Circular Economy Policy of the UAE (2021-2031) in coordination with the Agency’s strategic partners: Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Tadweer Group.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the concerned governmental and private sectors. Participants went over the current status, challenges, and trends of waste generation and management in Abu Dhabi where stakeholders unveiled their innovative and collective efforts to help manage waste efficiently and effectively.

Organisation representatives highlighted the key projects and initiatives that have been completed at the emirate level to achieve the desired goals of waste management.

Additionally, the workshop served as a platform to strengthen the partnerships between stakeholders in sustainable waste management.

Key players explored potential sustainable solutions and opportunities for improving waste management in Abu Dhabi through interactive panel discussions and groups held during the workshop and shared best practices and lessons learned.

Furthermore, they identified appropriate solutions to the most prominent challenges facing the emirate in the field of waste management, such as the phenomenon of illegal waste dumping and leakage of waste outside the emirate.

They also discussed how to attract investments in the field of waste recycling. Notably, the workshop highlighted the importance of forming a panel of expertise between the government and private sector to ensure that both sectors engage, share their input and provide concrete and feasible recommendations to help improve waste management in Abu Dhabi.

Executive Director of the Environmental Quality Sector at EAD, Faisal Al Hammadi, said, “The legislative and regulatory role of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi is based on Law (21) of 2005 on waste management, which defined its role as a competent authority to regulate waste management in the emirate. The waste sector is one of the important sectors related to strategic efforts to preserve and sustain the environment. Facing the challenges in the waste sector requires work and integration of efforts in the emirate to ensure proper handling of waste to avoid negative effects on the environment and human health.”

He pointed out that EAD believes in the importance of joint work and cooperation, and according to its future plans, it will work to intensify efforts and communicate with relevant government and private entities in order to achieve local and national strategic objectives and indicators.

Business Development Section Head, Strategic Planning and Policies Department at Tadweer Group, Majed Saeed Al Marzouqi, commented, “World Environment Day is an important occasion to remind us all to maintain our steadfast commitment to a sustainable future. Our organisation is pioneering in this space with our participation in today’s workshop, as well as our upcoming facilities dedicated to unlocking the value of waste and promoting a circular economy. With the support of our partners, we are reinforcing this vision by convening the waste sector to take tangible steps forward, progressing our ambition of diverting 80 percent of waste from landfill by 2030. We look forward to engaging in more opportunities with the public and private sector as we showcase the alternative resources derived from waste, contributing to the UAE’s sustainability agenda.