Egyptian Brothers Design a Clever Separator for Gulf Recyclables

Egyptian brothers Mostafa and Mohamed Nassar have designed a clever two-meter tall waste separator that aims to make recycling in Abu Dhabi and the other Emirates “as easy as pressing a button,” The National reports.Providers of steel solutions for construction, oil and gas industries and manufacturing plants, the Abu-Dhabi-raised pair believe that collecting recyclables can be profitable for landlords. But more importantly, they say, Gulf recycling rates will never increase unless the process is made entirely more convenient than it is currently. That’s where the WMS Metal Industries’ ENVIRO waste separator comes in handy.

Mostafa Nasser explained to the paper that at present, anyone who wants to recycle have to go out of their way to find central collection points as there are rarely the kind of door-to-door services we are accustomed to in western countries.

Consequent, all but the most diehard environmentalists are motivated to sort their waste and ensure that it finds its way to processing plants. So the Nassers hope to get landlords of apartment buildings interested in the profit that can be gained from a successful recycling program and already have plans to install their separator in Abu Dhabi’s central market and New York University Abu Dhabi.

So how does it work?

A control panel adjacent to rubbish shoots allows users to choose whether they are depositing paper, plastic, glass, metal or general waste. This requires pre-sorting at the front end, but the separator reduces the amount of sorting that has to be done on the back end of the recycling system.

Installed at the end of the rubbish chute, the head inside the separator pivots depending on the user selection and swings around to deposit the recyclables or waste in the appropriate trolly. Customizable depending on the exigencies of each building, the system allows for up to six different selections.

The Nasser brothers told The National that a 20 storey apartment building with eight apartments on each floor could net approximately $1,900 by collecting recyclables and selling them to processing plants – a comfortable income for owners of more than one property.

In the process of applying for a US patent, the pair add that people in the Gulf are not especially industrious and homegrown solutions are rare. Meanwhile, as the Emirates become buried beneath the weight of their own waste, with camels choking on plastic and water bottle consumption at unreasonable rates, recycling is becoming increasingly important.

“But more people are starting to tap into their creativity and take more responsibility for their destinies, said Mohamed.

:: The National

More on Trash and Recycling in Gulf States:
A Plastic Pollution Cocktail: Toxic Chemicals in Every Day Items
Gulf Recycling Machines Turn Waste into an Advertising Opportunity
Dubai Malls That Fail to Recycle Waste Will be Fined

Author: Tafline Laylin

As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.

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