Envirol, a joint venture initiative between Dubai Municipality and Blue (a member of Alserkal Group), has revealed plans to expand and upgrade its current recycling facilities in Dubai, UAE.

The announcement was made today (March 22), during a ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion at the Envirol Recycling Plant in Al Aweer.

The expansion work for the recycling plant, which is the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region’s first grease trap waste treatment plant, is expected to be completed before the end of the year, said a statement from the company.

Present during the ground-breaking ceremony were Talib Abdulkarim Julfar, assistant director general for environmental services and public health, Dubai Municipality; Ahmad bin Eisa Alserkal, chairman, Blue; and other senior officials.

To date, the current capacity of the Al Aweer plant is around 50,000 gallons of waste per day; the completion of the new expansion and upgrade of its equipment and infrastructure will now allow Envirol to handle 100,000 gallons, which is double the amount of fat, oil and grease (FOG) waste generated by commercial kitchens located across Dubai on a daily basis.

Envirol solely targets waste produced by food establishments and eateries across Dubai. Grease traps, which are a common feature in these restaurants and busy food outlets, work by separating fats, oil and grease from waste water, it said.

Dubai Municipality has mandated 'the installation of grease traps in every kitchen, along with its proper cleaning, sending of mandatory report and kitchen should deal only with permitted grease trap waste contractor, with all waste being transported to Envirol for recycling’.

Elham Pourtangestani, plant manager, Envirol, said: “The country's hospitality segment has witnessed rapid growth over the years, with food establishments producing massive amounts of food waste every day--prompting authorities to raise their concerns on what to do with these wastes.”

“Being a leading edible oil waste recycling facility and the only grease trap waste treatment plant in the Middle East, the company remains steadfast in its commitment to provide smart waste management solutions through the use of innovative and efficient technologies,” he said.

“The planned expansion of our facilities is expected to help address the challenge of recycling millions of tonnes of fats, oils, and grease waste generated by more than 14,000 food establishments in Dubai,” he added.

The plant's expansion proves to be a very timely and strategic move as the need to properly recycle FOG waste has become increasingly urgent.

The reduction of FOG waste entering drains and sewers is important as it helps decrease the risk of flooding, back-ups and promulgation of foul odours. These facilities discharge their FOG waste at the Envirol plant through the services of accredited grease trap waste cleaning companies.

Envirol plays a significant role in being environmentally conscious, since the waste that is taken to the plant goes into process and produces fertilizer, water and oil that can be reused for composting, irrigation and detergent industries respectively.

Mohammed Al Kaabi, managing director, Blue, said: “Whether it’s cleaning, recycling, repurposing or reusing waste materials, Envirol stands true to its commitment to make sure businesses in Dubai can work responsibly without having a negative impact on the earth.”

“In fact, our recycling and refining efforts makes it possible to attain further use of these waste bi-products – not only reducing the dumping receptors perimeters but also leaving an environmentally clean and green impact on the community and the UAE as a whole,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service