ABU DHABI // In the centre of what will become the capital's cultural district, massive diggers and excavators are sifting and sorting through piles of pebbles, rocks and waste to reduce the environmental damage caused by the huge construction developments on Saadiyat Island.
Normally the blocks of wood, the paper and plastic and slabs of grey stone would be left to bake in the sun or degrade in landfills.
Instead, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) has found a way to tease paydirt from rubbish and become more environmentally sustainable in the process.
The 30,000-square-metre Waste Management Facility began sorting through the massive piles of building waste from the developments on the island in April.
Since then, it has recovered 199,163 cubic metres of reusable materials, such as stone aggregate, cardboard and aluminium, from 215,000 cubic metres of waste.
Much of the salvaged matter is sent back to the building sites of what will soon become the Louvre and Guggenheim museums, and to the roads and bridges that will connect the island to the city.
More than half the construction waste has been diverted from the landfill two hours away in Al Gharbia, according to Richard Naylor, the operations manager at Thiess Services, the company that helped establish the facility.
Now it is recycled, reused or sold.
For example, limestone pulled from the ground during the early phases of construction would historically have been sent to rubbish dumps, he said.
"Then the TDIC would have had to bring in new, processed material to the island to build the foundation." It was an inefficient process.
"Now what comes out of the ground gets crushed, processed and put back into the ground."
A similar process has been put in place for cement.
"This reduces our consumption of raw materials. We don't have to buy [stone] from Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah," said Nadia Ford, the environmental manager with Saadiyat. "This reduces our transport costs and our carbon footprint."
Paper, cardboard, glass, wood and plastics the remnants of construction and demolition are collected in skips, sent to a processing plant and then sold as raw material.
"We are not aware of any other developments in the country doing this," Ms Ford said. "Hopefully having us use this system will encourage more people to do so."
The position of the facility in the centre of the island has also helped prevent drivers from dumping their landfill-bound cargo on the side of the road.
The recycling programme has resulted in "significant savings", the TDIC said, but it would not give specific figures.
The company said it has a mandate to create buildings that are environmentally sustainable. The construction on Saadiyat must adhere to international standards of water and energy use, responsible land use, ecological protection and pollution prevention.
The Saadiyat Beach Golf Course, the signature course of Gary Player, was designed to be eco-conscious. A section has been cordoned off to protect the hatching spots for hawksbill turtles. Native grasses and drought-resistant plants are being used, while a computer-controlled irrigation system will minimise water loss.
The TDIC has also established a mangrove nursery on Saadiyat to help replenish the forests depleted by the capital's rapid development. Almost 300,000 saplings are being grown.
The island is being developed as a haven for cultural and tourism projects at a cost of Dh5.5 billion (US$1.5bn) infrastructure, with hopes of attracting Dh100 billion in investments.
jgerson@thenational.ae
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,00
On sale: Available for preorder now
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (11.30pm)
Saturday Freiburg v Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund, Cologne v Wolfsburg, Arminia Bielefeld v Mainz (6.30pm) Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig (9.30pm)
Sunday Werder Bremen v Stuttgart (6.30pm), Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (9pm)
Monday Hoffenheim v Augsburg (11.30pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
Company%20Profile
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
Kill%20
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Sour%20Grapes
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MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4
Second leg:
Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The Ashes
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 0 Wolves 2 (Jimenez 3', Saiss 6)
Man of the Match Romain Saiss (Wolves)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.