On Tuesday 22 January 2019, Asharqia Chamber organized the workshop "Waste Management" in coordination with the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East, on the prospects for the launch of Saudi-Japanese partnerships in the field of waste recycling and treatment of contaminated water.
During the workshop, the member of the Board of Directors of Asharqia Chamber, Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sayed, stressed the need for effective solutions to manage this dynamic file against the background of rapid industrial growth and the high rate of population growth and rapid urbanization witnessed by the Kingdom.
In this regard, Dr. Al-Sayed pointed out that the Kingdom's government allocated a large sum of 62.2 billion riyals in its current budget for the current year 2019 for municipal services involving waste disposal activities, recycling and drainage systems, etc.
Accordingly, he pointed out that in the Eastern Province (the Kingdom's industrial fortress), the rate of industrial waste is estimated at several million tons per year.
This is making disposal a major challenge for the government and other local bodies.
He pointed out that giant and pioneering institutions such as Saudi Aramco in cooperation with other local companies can manage waste disposal projects successfully in the Eastern Region.
He added, "At present, the Government, in cooperation with the private sector, is paying close attention to finding appropriate ways and solutions for waste disposal operations in the country.
The government is seeking to attract expertise and the latest technologies to transform the large amount of waste into energy in the Kingdom."
For his part, the Chief Planning Officer in Japan Middle East Cooperation Center, Atostogu Ono, said that the Center plays an important role in promoting Japanese investments in the Kingdom.
This workshop is part of a concerted effort to implement several joint projects that will push the relations between the Kingdom and Japan to further development and growth.
He added that this workshop was dedicated to talk about waste management because this sector involves many areas of work that can be discussed between the two friendly countries.
During the workshop, it was revealed that industrial waste in the Kingdom will rise to 185,972 tons by 2021, which means that a great challenge faces us in the coming years.
It is imperative to research seriously and effective solutions to take advantage of waste and turn them into useful materials; "We avoided multiple environmental risks."
The President of the Japan Waste Research Institute, Mr. Shigemoto Kajihara, reviewed the history of Japanese experience in waste management.
He presented a number of proposals that can be implemented in this area in the Saudi market in cooperation between Japanese specialized companies and Saudi companies, especially large ones such as Saudi Aramco.
Mr. Kenichi Sasaki, from Japan's DOWA Eco-System, reviewed some of the features of the Japanese experience in the treatment and recycling of industrial waste.
These wastes mainly include flammable oil, wastewater, infectious waste, polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorine, and asbestos, as well as wastes containing hazardous substances such as heavy metals, solvents, pesticides and dioxins.
