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November 2000
During the summer break back home in India, we got some renovation work done in our residence. This, plus a tiresome clean up operation, saddled us with loads of junk to dispose of. An enormous variety ranging from nuts, bolts, and ceramic tiles to stationary items, household appliances, and the usual packaging materials in plastic, paper, metal and glass. I wondered how we’d get rid of all this mess because there are no proper recycling centres in our little valley town. But I’d forgotten how simple it really was. The recycling outfit came to our doorstep - a man on his bicycle on which was strapped a gunnysack. He sorted everything right outside our gate and, miraculously, managed to stuff that huge volume of trash into his sack. He even paid us money for the wares!
Subsequently he’d come to our house every Sunday to find out if we had anything to dump. The last time he asked for old clothing, even if tattered. This, I thought, was unusual and so I asked him what he’d do with it. He’d sell it to a local company that deals in handmade paper. Of course! That’s where the paper for my greeting cards comes from, decorated with Himalayan flora.
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FROM BLUE JEANS TO PAPER
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“Give me discarded clothes and I will give you paper,” Rajan Ahluwalia had declared in March this year. He kept his word. Today, as manager of the Oasis Papers Industry, Al Quoz, Dubai, each day Ahluwalia converts 1.5 tonnes of cloth rejects to paper. It is not exactly old, worn out clothing (although this may well be used in future), but castaway trimmings from textile mills that are being transformed into usable paper in attractive colours. Trimmings that have, all this while, been dumped in landfills as waste.
In the conversion process Oasis Papers Industry is saving the equivalent of 405 eucalyptus trees or 690 bamboo plants from being reduced to pulp, each day. And this is still a pilot project. In a year the factory’s capacity is likely to expand from 1.5 tonnes to 12 tonnes, leading to more than a ten-fold increase in wood saved.
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Deforestation is an issue of international concern. As the world’s forests deplete, methods that move away from large-scale industrial paper production (primarily dependent on wood) are becoming increasingly popular, and rightly so. Handmade paper from non-wood fibres, such as that produced by this maiden venture in the Gulf, offers considerable potential to meet the increasing demand for paper products in an environmentally sound way.
On the day that Earthsense visits the Oasis Papers factory, trimmings from blue jeans are being made into blue paper. “We make paper of the same colour as the cloth, and so do away with the use of dyes,” explains Ahluwalia. Trucks have brought in heaps of jean trimmings from some of the 224 garment factories in Dubai and Sharjah. These are being hand sorted by colour and artificial fibres removed. Then, in sequence, the rags are being chopped, beaten into fluff, water applied and the pulp passed through an agitator well so its consistency is made uniform. Next, the mould machine where sheets are formed, each being picked up individually, smoothened in a calendering machine and sun-dried before being cut to size.
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It is a pollution-free operation that uses no chemicals and, in addition, restricts water consumption by recycling 99% of it. Water needs to be changed only once in 15 – 20 days or when fabric colours are altered, say from dark to pale. Outside the plant, there are a series of settling tanks through which used water passes for being cleaned before it is fed into the paper making process again and again.
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“Even the froth (dregs of fibre) on the surface of these settling tanks may be collected for molding into paper that can be crafted into light weight items such as pencil stands, gift boxes… it all depends on the artist’s imagination,” says Ahluwalia.
So what kind of products can we expect in the market? Oasis Papers can make about 400 different kinds of paper ranging from high quality smooth finish for office stationery to rough paper for items like coasters and tablemats. Decorative paper for greeting cards, gift wrapping paper, desk files, photo albums, CD carriers, scribble pads, lamp shades, shopping bags, and even venetian blinds and wallpaper are possible!
Arabs feel their environment has worsened in the last decade according to the Environmental Public Opinion Survey in Arab Countries, 2000
A survey to determine the level of awareness on environmental issues in the Arab world and to gauge public enthusiasm for cooperation towards mitigating ecological threats was conducted by Beirut - based Environment & Development magazine in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Council for Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE). A majority (85.5%) of the sampled respondents, spanning 18 countries, indicates that the environment that they reside in has become worse in the last 10 years mainly on account of man - induced causes. Only 21%, those living in the Gulf States, including the UAE, are of the view that the environment in their country is good and even excellent.
While most respondents are willing to bring about some changes in their daily lives to benefit the local environment, as many as 77% further agree to pay somewhat higher taxes if they knew that the money would be spent in improving it. Lebanese and North African nationals felt more positively about this than the Gulf States nationals.
Based on the survey analysis, Environment & Development magazine make some general observations about environmental awareness in the Arab countries:
- Those respondents with above average incomes are less concerned about conservation issues.
- Most respondents are aware of global environmental concerns.
- The majority feels that governments should formulate environmental policies and play central roles in environmental protection, followed by United Nations agencies.
- Lebanese record the highest levels of environmental awareness. This is on account of eco-consciousness generated over the last decade in which major roles have been played by the over 60 environmental non-governmental organisations and generous coverage given to environmental issues by a free media.
- Respondents in the Gulf region, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are optimistic about the environment in their countries because of their success in greening the deserts, and low populations resulting in fewer environmental problems.
- In some of the Mashriq region states (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) severe environmental problems are associated with its higher population and greater industrial development compared with Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt and Sudan) and the Gulf.
- In Maghreb the lower per capita income (relative to Mashriq and the Gulf) results in over-exploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation.
- Young respondents, students, teachers, and individuals in the average income bracket are among groups that have a high level of environmental awareness.
- Populations with higher levels of readership are more sensitive to environmental problems than other groups.
- Environmental awareness raising is urgently needed in all Arab countries and at all levels.
Bio-Degradable Plastic Bags
New bio-degradable plastic bags (refuse sacks and shopping bags) are now available in the UAE. The bags use bio-degradable material called Mater-Bi that is developed and marketed by Novamont, a company belonging to the Ferruzzi-Montedison group, Italy.
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Mainly derived from cornstarch, Mater-Bi is a thermoplastic material (capable of softening or fusing when heated and and of hardening again when cooled) that can be processed by the same machines currently used to process conventional plastics. Mater-Bi physical-mechanical properties are similar to those of conventional plastics, but it is biodegradable at a rate similar to that of paper.
Living organisms transform Mater-Bi products into water, carbon dioxide and/or methane. When dropped in lake or seawater, Mater-Bi items sink and may become food for aquatic organisms. According to reports, Mater-Bi may be eaten by insects and higher order animals without negative effects.
The bags can be disposed of as domestic organic wastes. They can be composted – treated in conventional composting plants together with the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes and converted into fertile humus for agriculture. They can be landfilled, in which case they behave as cellulose (the raw material of paper) wastes. Or they can be incinerated without yielding any toxic or metallic residue.
Plan to Preserve UAE’S Endangered Flora
Al Zaafran garden, Abu Dhabi, is to be developed into a botanical garden to preserve and showcase the UAE’s indigenous plant life. The Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA) is drawing up the detailed plan, which will be implemented in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Municipality and Town Planning Department. The botanical garden will cover 15.4 hectares and will serve to enhance public awareness about the nation’s plant heritage.
This is a welcome move because so far, the conservation of natural flora has not received the attention it deserves. Earlier this year, at a regional meeting of the Arabian Plant Specialist Group (APSG) organised In Abu Dhabi by ERWDA and National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWDC), Saudi Arabia, it had been pointed out that the region had some 3500 endemic plants that are tolerant of highly saline soil and harsh climate. This made the plants very special. Yet the importance of plant life was often overlooked because of the deep interest and attention devoted to problems afflicting wildlife such as Arabian oryx, gazelles and turtles.
Federal Environmental Agency Move to Ban Asbestos in the UAE
In view of the enormous health risks posed by asbestos (used in floor tiles, ceiling tiles, insulation, pipes and ducts, acoustical and decorative coatings and roofing materials) the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA) will gradually ban its use. To this end, the Ministry of Finance and Industry has been assigned a comprehensive economic study that will be reviewed by the FEA as part of the gradual ban.
Asbestos, banned in most western nations, is still available in the local market and is reportedly used in roofing as well as mixed with cement for pipes.
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WHAT ON EARTH CAN WE DO?
Buy recycled goods and then make an effort to recycle them. If we are not buying recycled materials, we are not recycling. Also try to buy locally recycled goods. This supports our local economy and environmental endeavours, saves energy required to transport goods over long distances, and in all probability, saves money as well.
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