A new tracking and monitoring system implemented on waste collection vehicles will come into effect on January 1 next year, Dubai Municipality announced on Tuesday.

 

The vehicle tracking system will provide the exact location of the vehicle and the weight of the waste it is transporting. This is to avoid haphazard and random disposal of municipal waste.

 

Many local companies in charge of waste disposal have implemented the new tracking system. However, the municipality will apply this on all companies to unify standards.

 

Though the tracking system is used globally, Dubai Municipality added a new feature for tighter control over waste. The new feature is basically sensors installed in each vehicle to calculate the weight of waste each vehicle is transporting. All the data received will show on screens in the office located at Dubai Municipality headquarters.

 

With the new tracking system, Dubai Municipality can generate enough data that become useful statistics. This will enable the calculation of the amount of waste generated per area [in terms of weight] and which area generates the most waste in Dubai.

 

Keeping records of vehicle movement around Dubai regulates the location of the waste. If a vehicle monitored has transported 2,000 tonnes of waste throughout the day, but reaches the landfill with only 1,000 tonnes, the transporter is then questioned about the missing waste. This is to avoid disposal of waste in non-designated areas.

 

The tracking system can block a vehicle from entering the landfill if it has left the premises of Dubai without authorization. With municipal solid waste being converted into fuel for vehicles, almost 15,000 waste recycle bins across the emirate and projects focusing on energy generated from solid wastes, the Dubai Integrated Energy strategy aims at reducing demand for energy by 30 per cent as well and accomplishing zero waste by 2030.

 

Also, in 2013, municipal statistics recorded as much as 2.6 million tonnes of garbage disposed of in the landfill, which is 900,000 tonnes less than the 3.5 million tonnes disposed of in 2010. Also, statistics demonstrated that the average annual per capita household waste is as much as 725-730 kilograms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.