Dubai’s landfills are singing to the tune of 1,000 tonnes of food waste per day, according to a senior municipality official on Tuesday.
The plan is to put those tonnes of discarded food to good use by turning them into biofuel.
Food waste is not limited to residential homes: Hotels, catering companies and schools also generate food waste.
Over one year, it means that as much as 365,000 tonnes of food is discarded in Dubai – about 12. 5 per cent of the mountain of waste the emirate generates amounting to 2.92 million tonnes.
Now, Dubai authorities are working towards recycling every scrap of food that end up in its landfills, and are in the process of setting up a biogas plant in Dubai.
The Sustainability Department at Dubai Municipality is the body responsible for carrying out the project.
Eisa Al Maidour, Deputy Director General of Dubai Municipality, explained that as food is fermented, methane gas is emitted.
The biogas generated is stored and used as fuel for a generator that produces electricity that can feed the power grid.
“Whatever’s left of the organic material can then be used for soil improvement,” he said.
Waste food feeds Finland's biggest biogas facility in Lahti city, which generates 50 GWh a year, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of 140 local buses or 4,500 cars.
The Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club announced earlier this week they will start composting all staff cafeteria food waste onsite – including meat, bones, fruit, vegetable peelings, plate scrapings, spoilt food, wasted food from plates, trimmings.
The team will utilize all discarded food to feed back into plants and trees. (GulfNews)