Glass recycling key to meeting sustainability goals in UAE hospitality

Gulf Glass 2017 will showcase the world’s first closed-loop glass bottle recycling programme.

Climate change and waste management are two major environmental issues being tackled by the UAE government and are now constantly driving initiatives to reduce waste and improve recycling.

While there’s no silver bullet to solve the environmental issue, technology and the UAE hospitality industry together can really make a difference.

Technical Supplies and Services Co. LLC (TSSC) brand manager Erickson Daiz said in a statement: “It is estimated that 156 million empty glass bottles or 39,000 tonnes enter the UAE waste stream every year. Since the majority of these glass bottle waste comes from the major four- and five-star hotels, imagine the environmental benefits if only 25% of this glass waste were used as feedstock to manufacture new glass containers. The hospitality industry, growing at 7% annually, with revenues forecast to reach US$9.8 billion by 2020, is a key player in any environmental programme.”

Glass bottles for food and beverages, largely used by hotels and restaurants, are 100% recyclable. With the use of cullets in glass manufacturing, water pollution is reduced by 50%, greenhouse gases are cut down by 24.8%, while re-melting glass cullets consumes 40% less energy and saves 300kgs of CO2, compared to manufacturing glass from raw materials.

By 2021, the UAE National Agenda aims to reduce landfill by 75%, and protect the environment from methane gas emitted by the same. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi pursues an ambitious plan to divert 85% of its waste from dumping grounds by 2018, while Dubai Municipality's Integrated Waste Management Master Plan aims to reduce the amount of waste being sent to the landfill to zero by 2032.

Ahead of Gulf Glass 2017, the largest flat & container glass event in the region, where TSSC is presenting the new range of PEL Bottle Crushers, attention is drawn to the high potential of glass recycling within the hospitality industry.

Hotel brands in the region including Jumeirah already adopted the PEL Bottle Crushers, as part of its CSR and environmental programmes. “Glass is the simplest and safest packaging recycling solution: if properly collected, glass can be recycled in a closed loop,” said Gulf Glass event director Muhammed Kazi.

From September 25-27 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Gulf Glass will host 140 suppliers of finished products, glass production technology and machinery. TSSC, the Dubai-based marketing arm of Orwell International, will showcase its newest PEL Bottle Crushers.