SHARJAH - Enhancing the capabilities of its four-square-kilometre integrated waste management complex, BEEAH Recycling, the pioneering waste processing and material recovery business under BEEAH Group, has launched a new recycling facility.

The Commercial and Industrial (C&I) waste recycling facility is the tenth and latest addition to BEEAH Recycling’s Waste Management complex, which is aiming to help Sharjah achieve 100 percent landfill waste diversion this year.

The C&I recycling facility is the first of its kind in the region, with a robotics and AI system that automatically detects, identifies and separates different types of waste. It will supplement the waste processing efforts at BEEAH Recycling’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF), which is the largest facility of its kind in the Middle East and the third largest in the world.

Previously, the MRF was the primary location for the separation of mixed recyclables in BEEAH Recycling’s Waste Management Complex. With the addition of the AI and Robotics-enabled C&I recycling facility, BEEAH Recycling is set to enhance efficiency of material recovery and increase landfill waste diversion.

Sharing his insights on the impact of the C&I facility, Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of BEEAH Group, said, “We are proud of the latest development at BEEAH Recycling, which aligns with our Group’s vision to pioneer a sustainable quality of life for all. We believe that achieving zero waste to landfill future is a cornerstone for tomorrow’s sustainable, smart cities, and we look forward to achieving this goal for Sharjah. By employing future technologies and AI vision to optimise material recovery, we are accelerating towards zero-waste targets and creating positive impact for society, the environment, and the circular economy.”

Speaking about the recycling facility, Daker El-Rabaya, CEO of BEEAH Recycling, said, “With the use of robotics and AI, the C&I facility processes waste and recovers material from mixed recyclables faster and more effectively for reintroduction into the economy. Not only are we enhancing the capabilities of our integrated complex, but we are setting a new benchmark on how valuable material can be recovered from waste in a way that saves time, labour and cost.”

El-Rabaya highlighted that over ten different types of material will be recovered from the C&I recycling facility, including Aluminium, HDPE, plastic car parts, wood, tyre, PET, polypropylene containers and sacks, paper and carton, metals and mix film. Commercial residue from the C&I recycling facility will be sent to the nearby Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) facility, which was launched by BEEAH Recycling last month. At the SRF, the commercial residue will be transformed into alternative green fuel.

“Combining our new C&I facility with the SRF facility, we have demonstrated that integrated waste processing can drive our goals of sending zero waste to landfill for the first time in the Middle East. At the same time, we are generating value two-fold; from recovered materials and waste-derived fuels,” El-Rabaya added.

At full operational capacity, the C&I recycling facility will process around 156,000 tonnes of mixed recyclables per year, translating to about 500 tonnes of waste per day.

This level of productivity is supported by the facility’s integrated AI and robotics system, which recognises, sorts, and produces bales of plastics, paper, aluminium, light and oversized residue, as well as other materials. With robotics and AI vision, the system sets a global benchmark for automatic recovery of recyclables. Thus far, Sharjah has recorded a 76 percent waste diversion rate with the support of BEEAH Recycling’s award-winning waste management complex.

The C&I and SRF facilities add to eight other waste processing facilities in BEEAH Recycling’s waste management complex, including the Material Recovery Facility for mixed recyclables, the Metal Recycling Centre for cars and automobiles, the Industrial Waste Water Treatment Plant for industrial wastewater, the Construction and Demolition Waste facility for debris from construction sites, the Biomass facility for cellulose and carbon-based waste, the Alternative Raw Material facility for marine debris, effluents and oil spills, the Tyre Recycling facility for old tyres, and the Medical Waste Processing facility for biohazardous medical waste. Now, with a total of 10 facilities in its waste management complex, BEEAH Recycling is set to steadily the increase landfill waste diversion rate in the emirate of Sharjah and achieve 100 percent landfill waste diversion by the end of 2022, making it the first city to achieve zero waste to landfill in the Middle East.