Dubai: The bad odour in Al Qusais will no longer bother residents as a new landfill gas recovery system is set to improve the quality of air and reduce the percentage of greenhouse gases.
A senior municipal official further said that this is the first step in harnessing landfill gas for the eventual generation of electricity from flaring off methane.
“Our goal is to establish Dubai as a thought leader in green initiatives, and through our new project, we are not only contributing to mitigating the impact of greenhouse gases on environmental degradation but also promoting social wellbeing,” said Hussain Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality.
Speaking on Monday at the inauguration of the region’s first landfill gas recovery system, Lootah affirmed that the project at Al Qusais Landfill site adopts the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) initiative, which is registered with the United Nations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Through implementing the CDM project, the municipality aims to reduce methane emissions, which is expected to remove 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.
“This unique project has taken a lot of aspects into consideration that protects the environment and addresses the issue of greenhouse gases that is made up of a good percentage of methane gas. We started using one megawatt of electricity at the landfill and within this year, we aim produce a larger quantity of electricity and collaborate with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority to provide it to [people’s homes],” said Lootah.
The landfill at Al Qusais is one of the largest sites for municipal waste collection at an area of 3.5 square kilometres, receives about 5,000 tons of solid waste a day. Landfills traditionally are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases due to the decomposition of organic waste. According to Dubai Municipality, the landfill has been used by authorities since 1978 and generally, landfill gas is made up of about 55 per cent methane and 45 per cent carbon dioxide. Methane is 21 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
