Creating Value from Waste

1. CREATING VALUE FROM WASTE:
A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT APPROACH
Presentation by
Professor Steve Halls
Sohar University

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Research Funded by and carried out in
association with the Oman Research Council

3. Clean Technology
• Clean technology is any product or services that improves
operational performance, productivity, or efficiency while
reducing costs, inputs, energy consumption, waste, or
environmental pollution.
• Clean technology includes recycling, renewable energy
(wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels,
etc.), information technology, green transportation, electric
motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater reuse, and
many other appliances that are now more energy efficient.
• It is a means a smaller environmental footprint and
minimize pollution.
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4. Clean Technology
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5. The Opportunity of Clean Technology
• Economic Growth: Clean technology employers exist in an innovative, profit driven
environment. Venture capitalists have invested billions in this industry, and employers
have indicated they expect to increase employment substantially both important
indicators of dynamic economic growth.
• Environmental Sustainability: The cluster as a whole is focused on developing
effective solutions to the environmental challenges of the day using the latest
innovative technologies. The underlying objective of most firms in this industry is to
attain greater sustainability in how we produce and provide goods and services.
• Equitable Opportunities: Clean technology and its promise of advanced
manufacturing and assembly occupations can provide economic opportunity for a
broad array of educational backgrounds.
• Given the potential benefits of a growing clean technology industry, it is not hard to
understand why regional policy makers and economists have been strongly advocating
for the support and development of the clean technology industry in and around their
communities.
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6. Job Creation Potential
• Jobs created in the environmental sector might trigger the creation of jobs in
other, related sectors, which depend on an intact environment, such as eco-
tourism as well as sustainable agriculture
• In order to enable sound decision-making at the interface of these decisive
policy fields, following key challenges should be tackled next:
• A database of actual effects of environmental policies and clean technologies should
be established.
• To this end, in-depth studies on the effects of the introduction of clean technologies
need to diligently separate these from other employment-effective developments
and develop methods for valuation and quantification taking into consideration
ancillary as well as adverse effects.
• On the conceptual side, the link between environmental policies, the introduction
and development of clean technologies and the ensuing effect on jobs should be
discussed more systematically, in order to better understand and gauge the
underlying effects for job creation in this context. In this respect, it should be
ensured that environmental policies and strategies are not reduced to their potential
contribution to job creation, but rather seen as an innovative and efficient way for
achieving new momentum in the process towards more jobs and employment
throughout the Sultanate.
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7. Waste - The Opportunity
In January 2013 a report from the European
Union (EU) stated that full implementation of
EU waste legislation would save €72 billion
a year, increase the annual turnover of the
EU waste management and recycling sector
by €42 billion and create over 400,000
Employment opportunities by 2020
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8. The Challenge in Oman
• In Oman industrial growth, is a vital factor for economic
improvement, raising the quality of life, and employment
generation.
• Waste management is a challenging issue for the Sultanate
because of its adverse impacts on environment and public
health. With population of almost 3 million inhabitants, the
country produced about 1.7 million tons of solid waste in
2014. The per capita waste generation is more than 1.2 kg
per day, among the highest worldwide.
• Solid waste in Oman is characterized by very high
percentage of (potential) recyclables, primarily paper,
plastics, metals and glass.
• However the country is yet to realize the environmental and
employment benefits from recycling of its municipal waste
stream.
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9. Waste Composition in Oman
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10. Current Waste Destinations
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Employment
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12. The Project addressed (1)
• What further research is required to identify, address the barriers to
the development and implementation of a waste management
strategy, based on resource recovery?
• What National policy, regulation and institutional integration are
required to maximize the environmental benefits and employment
opportunities?
• Which waste streams can realistically be used for resource recovery,
the valorization of waste and what markets and products could be
created?
• What needs to be done in terms of awareness-raising of the socio-
economic, in particular, the employment opportunities arising from the
adoption of a resource recovery industry
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13. Results - Project Barriers/Limitations
• Poorly defined and limited number of markets (at present)
• Consumer lack of awareness
• Regulator ‘unfamiliarity’ of technologies
• Competition from conventional products – no price point
differential (at present)
• Competition for land
• Little experience in work force
• Lack of education and training providers – formal and
informal
• Technical issues – durability and breakdown
• Cheap energy (watch this space closely!)
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14. Priority Research
• This research has identified critical gaps in Oman’s knowledge
around recyclable waste. The following research projects are
proposed in priority order to enhance the knowledge base, which can
then enable the government to take informed policy and strategy
decisions:
 Scoping and classification of municipal solid waste
 Development of a resource recovery technology decision tool
 High level analysis of the cost of the current waste management system in
Oman, and key future scenarios
 Study on economic instruments for waste management & potential application
in Oman
 Comparative study on effective private sector involvement in resource recovery
and waste management
 Study on Oman’s grey markets in waste
 Comparative study on waste behaviours and attitudes in Oman and other Arab
countries, including identifying what works in changing / nudging behaviours
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15. Summary
● There is a unique opportunity to bring about significant
financial and job impacts to the Omani economy, target
industries and enterprises of all sizes, creating jobs,
generating profit whilst sustainably recycling precious
resources and protecting the environment.
● Thus, by adopting a proactive, collaborative approach to
R&D, education, innovation, enterprise and employment
the creation of a new industry that has enormous
potential not only in Oman but also Gulf States can be
achieved!
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16. Indicative Recommendations
The most effective measures to induce a significant impact
of clean tech-based production on all industries are:
Stimulate and fund needs-based research and technology
development by Universities in conjunction with industry
Create new markets for businesses to support clean tech-based
products and encourage competition
Set up public-private partnerships to initiate private sector
investments and reduce the delay between product development
and commercialization
Identify potential growth and impact areas for key industries and
provide them with incentives to achieve specified targets, such as
CO2 equivalents reduction
Inform the public that clean tech-based products are a realistic
supplement to fossil-based products but that they cannot mitigate
the rising demand for fossil fuels
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17. Indicative Recommendations
To overcome the previously mentioned challenges
stakeholders need to play different roles in the
industrialization process of clean tech systems.
 Governments
 Companies
 Retail and business consumers
 Financial institutions
 Universities – Education, R&D, Incubation and
Enterprise creation
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18. ‫استماعكم‬ ‫حسن‬ ‫على‬ ‫أشكركم‬
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Thank you for your kind attention!