Deploying Municipal Solid Waste Management 3R-WTE Framework in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and Future

• Main Authors: Laith A. Hadidi, Ahmed Ghaithan, Awsan Mohammed, Khalaf Al-Ofi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: municipal solid waste (MSW); 3R-WTE; solid waste management; sustainability evaluation; waste-to-energy (WTE); Saudi Arabia
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5711

The need for resilience and an agile waste management system in Saudi Arabia is vital to control safely the rapid growth of its municipal solid waste (MSW) with minimal environment toll. Similarly, the domestic energy production in Saudi Arabia is thriving and putting a tremendous pressure on its huge reserves of fossil oil. Waste to energy (WTE) plants provides a golden opportunity for Saudi Arabia; however, both challenges (MSW mitigation and energy production) are usually looked at in isolation. This paper at first explores the potential of expanding the WTE energy production in the eastern province in Saudi Arabia under two scenarios (complete mass burn with and without recycling). Secondly, this study analyzes the effect of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) practices implementation in a residential camp (11,000 population) to influence the behavior of the camp’s citizens to reduce their average waste (kg/capita). The results of the 3R-WTE framework show a potential may reach 254 Megawatt (MW) of electricity by year 2030. The 3R system implementation in the camp reduced MSW production from 5,625 tons to 3000 tons of household waste every year, which is considered lower than what the surrounding communities to be produced in the same area.