Envac: Environmentally sustainable waste management
Waste collected in the most hygienic manner and transported quietly by a single truck to recycling plants, incinerators or landfills, without affecting the residents of the locality! If that seems like a dream scenario, then it’s time to open our eyes and see that it is happening. And that too right here in Dubai at the Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR), where Envac has been managing the waste since 2006!
Envac, with origins in Sweden, is recognised as the undisputed global market leader for underground-automated waste collection systems. It has over 40 years experience in the development and adaptation of its technology to local standards in more than 30 countries. In the Middle East, Envac, with its headquarters in Dubai has opened offices in Abu Dhabi and Doha too. The company takes full responsibility from the planning phase to the installation including the operation and maintenance of its waste collection system.
Complete automation
JBR is the first project of Envac in the Middle East. The highly automated efficient waste collection system that Envac has put in place at JBR has resulted in the company bagging several similar projects around the region.
A complex comprising of 36 residential towers averaging 40 stories in height and 4 five star hotels, JBR is the single largest simultaneous residential built project in the world. The towers rest on a common podium which houses services, parking, premium retail units and restaurants spread across 700,000 square metres.
Managing the waste of a project the size of JBR is a challenge to any waste management company. And Envac has not only met that challenge head on but also continues to be a star example of being a very environmentally- friendly waste management company. The technology that Envac employs has been in place since the 1960s. The underground waste transport units installed then at residential areas and hospitals are still in operation, proving the sustainability of the technology and its operational safety.
Traditional waste collection seen today almost all over the United Arab Emirates has been around for more than 100 years in many countries. We collect the waste in open containers usually outside where we live. Then it is collected manually to be transported in heavy noisy vehicles through residential areas and pollute the air through their emissions as well as unpleasant smells.
At JBR, the Envac system is not only almost invisible but also clean and odourless. “Many of the residents are not even aware how their waste is collected and disposed of so efficiently. All they do is throw the waste down the chute and forget about it. Our automated system does the rest. We just have one operator at the site office to see that the system always works smoothly,” informs Kathryn Hanson, Sales & Marketing Director of Envac Middle East FZE.
There is a two-level podium for collecting waste at JBR. Each building in JBR has one or two garbage chutes and the garbage is collected at a vertical storage section. For the retail and food and beverage areas, which are no more than two floors, there is a separate collection area for garbage. All the storage areas are connected through a pipe network. A control room within the facility is equipped with a computer system that keeps track of the waste collected and dispatch each day. 33 tons of waste is produced every day from JBR alone. There are huge valves along the pipe network that bring in the waste to the collection tanks that can each contain 10 tons. There are two separate collection stations, as the project is split over two plots. One collection station houses three containers and the other one, two containers.
Cleaner and safer
The waste collection process that Envac uses is cleaner and safer than conventional systems. It consists of a fully enclosed vacuum system, which means doing away with foul smelling, dirty refuse collection rooms and containers in the streets. No one needs to come into contact with refuse sacks or containers. The waste is thrown into a normal inlet, either indoors or outdoors. Hygiene is maintained at all times and there is no manual handling of the waste at all. The container is sealed once it is filled and then transported to the landfill where it is emptied.
Envac uses intelligent systems that allow the emptying of the waste collected only when required but at the same time the waste does not sit for long hours. There is both time based and volume based automated emptying that lets the waste flow to collection points at regular intervals.
In principle, the system consists of a number of collection points, linked together by piping that transports the waste to a central collection station. When a refuse bag is deposited into an inlet, it is temporarily stored in a chute on top of a discharge valve. All the full inlets connected to the collection station are automatically emptied at regular intervals. The control system switches on the fans and a vacuum is created in the network of pipes. An air inlet valve is opened to allow transport air to enter the system.
One by one, the discharge valves below each of the chutes are opened and the refuse bags fall down by gravity into the horizontal network of pipes and are sucked to the collection station. The refuse enters the collection station via a cyclone that separates the refuse from the air. The refuse falls down into a compactor, which compacts the refuse in the sealed container. The transport air then passes through dust and deodorant filters and a silencer. When the containers are full, normal trucks collect them for emptying for further transportation to incineration facilities, composting plants or landfills. One truck goes to one location and picks up 20 to 25 cubic meters of waste and drives off. “Compared to conventional waste collection processes this is much more efficient and does not block traffic when waste collection trucks stop at big bins to tip waste into their bays at various hours of the day. While the conventional waste collection system would require 17 to 19 trucks to collect the waste from a facility like JBR, the Envac truck comes in and finishes the job in about three minutes thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions into the air and degradation of roads, and traffic chaos,” points out Hanson.
Whereas open garbage systems are prone to pest infestations as well as creating disease causing germs, the Envac system is sealed and odourless. In addition the working environment is very good indeed for the workers who deal with the garbage because they never come into direct contact with it. They do not do any lifting or pulling heavy bins and are at no risk of infection or cuts when operating the Envac system.
Sorting at source
Envac continues to work on improving the operating cycle of the entire system and developing technology that can link the air conditioning to the exhauster fans so that there is further reduction of energy consumption. Hanson explains, “Our technology is protected by international patents and we are constantly updating and improving the capacity of our systems so that we can effectively always reduce operating costs, our carbon footprint and ultimately ensure long-term sustainability. The next step in JBR and other sites are to go for sorting of waste at source by using one inlet for each fraction.”
The Envac system can upgrade to separation of waste at source if the need arises and becomes government rule later. It is ideal for separating waste for recycling, in which case there is an additional inlet and container for each category of refuse. The control system directs a diverter valve to convey each category of sorted waste into the correct container.
At all stages of it, the system does not lose sight of the importance of conserving the environment and the hygiene of users. Less noise, reduced exhaust and carbon emissions due to reduced transport needs, stops, and loading/unloading ensures good care of the environment. And the out-of-sight and odourless waste collection operation sees that the residential area is clean and attractive at all times.
“We consider ourselves to be an environmentally-friendly waste management company because we significantly reduce our energy consumption on a daily basis. There is no unnecessary use of energy in any of the stages of our waste collection process. It is also cost effective because the whole process requires only one operator to keep the system running. Such a highly automated advanced system is a capital investment and costs much initially but it pays back as the years pass, as its operating costs are significantly low. In the conventional system, costs continue to grow,” elucidates Hanson.
Service technicians at Envac ensure that a comprehensive follow up system and extensive scheduled monitoring of the system functions is maintained always. They see to it that there is no interruption of operations and carry out necessary repairs and replacement of parts as and when necessary.
As for its products, Envac continues to develop and adapt its technology to manage new types of waste and applications in collaboration with its customers, who provide valuable feedback on the efficacy of its systems.
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