Enviroserve has launched a US$32.67mn integrated electric and electronic waste recycling facility ?The Recycling Hub? at Dubai Industrial Park
Backed by the Swiss Government Export Finance Agency and representing one of the largest foreign direct investments (FDI) in the UAE?s environmental management sector, the green recycling facility is expected to service international e-waste recycling efforts across Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus.
Of about 50mn tonnes of electronic and electrical waste being produced globally, only 20 per cent is formally recycled. According to the UN-sponsored project finding, the average UAE resident generates 17.2kg of e-waste every year, most of which contain harmful toxins such as arsenic, cadmium and mercury.
The Recycling Hub
Addressing this concern, the facility aims to process the entire range of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from consumer and industrial to commercial and military. Some of them include air conditioners, batteries, computers, household appliances, mobile phones and military avionics.
The Recycling Hub has a processing capacity of 100,000 tonnes of total integrated waste per year, of which 39,000 tonnes is e-waste.
Currently, the only dedicated refrigerant gas reclaim facility in the UAE, it will further recycle specialised waste material such as aerosol cans, light bulbs and FMCG products.
According to Enviroserve, the recycling facility?s mechanical separation process is chemical-free with industrial air filtration, with 96 per cent recovery rate and zero air and liquid emissions, thus allowing 38,000,000 kilograms of e-waste to be kept out landfills each year.
Saud Abu Al-Shawareb, managing director at Dubai Industrial Park, said that the facility is in line with the UAE?s journey towards becoming a global platform and model of the new green economy.
The launch event was held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahyan, UAE minister of tolerance, and attended by senior government officials, industry experts and business partners.
The guests toured the 280,000 sq ft e-waste recycling plant, which is expected to be the world?s largest integrated facility that processes WEEE, IT asset disposition (ITAD), refrigerant gas and specialised waste.
The facility, featuring Swiss technology, has surpassed EU standards for e-waste recycling and is set to accept all types of end-of-life electric and electronic equipment.
