Ecowaste Exhibition will be held for the fifth successive year in 2018 in Abu Dhabi, with a focus on advancing sustainable waste management and recycling across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). As a platform to establish a future-centric agenda and lead dialogue in the industry, EcoWASTE Exhibition will bring together businesses, policymakers, municipalities, innovators, and thought leaders at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from January 15 – 18, 2018. The event is run in strategic partnership with Tadweer (The Centre of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi), and hosted by Masdar as part of the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

During the event, EcoWASTE Exhibition will host Waste Management Solutions Forum on January 17, 2018. The one-day forum aims to identify challenges and solutions around sustainable waste management. The forum is a premium event that will bring together subject experts and industry leaders to lead the discussion on key issues in waste management. These include reducing the volumes of solid waste sent to landfills, the rise of waste-to-energy in the region, leveraging big data to better manage services, and new innovations and best practice strategies for sustainable waste management.

With increasing volumes of waste generated across the region, effective strategies for turning waste to resource are imperative, and this will be driven through the use of advanced technologies. In the Middle East, the high rate of population growth, urbanization and economic expansion is not only accelerating consumption rates but also increasing the generation rate of all sorts of waste as a result. With the gross urban waste generation reported to cross 150 million tons per annum across the region, local municipalities, including those in the UAE, are developing waste reduction and diversion strategies to minimise landfill stress.

These strategies include plans to develop waste-to-energy facilities for incinerating waste and providing energy that can supplement a country’s electricity needs and diversify its energy mix, in addition to contributing to the UAE’s goal of diverting 75 per cent of waste away from landfills by 2021.

Abdulrahman Al Blooshi, Strategic Planning and Policy Director at Tadweer, said: "Today we are faced with growing populations and the emergence of new waste related challenges that did not exist a decade ago. Due to the rising volumes of waste, whether from homes, businesses, and industries, we must create innovative strategies to pioneer a new era in waste management, which will be enhanced by the benefits of private sector partnerships. Through our participation at EcoWASTE 2018, we will demonstrate how Tadweer is enabling a sustainable future for the UAE, and establish new benchmarks for waste management."

Naji El Haddad, Group Event Director at Reed Exhibitions, the organisers of the EcoWASTE Exhibition commented: "EcoWASTE Exhibition is a thriving marketplace for the whole industry. It enables access to experts, global best practices, and the latest in waste management technologies, driving efficiencies at scale. The exhibition aims to bridge the gap between various stakeholders."