BEEAH kicks off sustainable waste management services at COP27

BEEAH Group signed the contract with the Governorate of South Sinai in Sharm El Sheikh last month, following which BEEAH Tandeef deployed waste management infrastructure and streamlined waste collection solutions in the city.

In particular, BEEAH Tandeef has taken care to ensure world-class delivery of waste management services in the Sharm El Sheikh Convention Centre, where COP27 is being held.

The convention centre will have several bins and personnel to maintain cleanliness and ensure proper disposal of waste. Beyond the COP27 venue, BEEAH Tandeef is also addressing the municipal solid waste needs of the entire city. Innovative solar-powered, hi-tech bins have been deployed at various locations in Sharm El Sheikh.

Recycling stations have been placed strategically to collect different types of waste, with separate streams for recyclables, e-waste, as well as organic waste and mixed waste. Waste and recycling points also serve as educational centres for local communities, informing people on proper waste disposal techniques and encouraging waste segregation at the source.

BEEAH Tandeef is also carrying out waste management and public cleansing services in the numerous tourist hotspots in the desert and beach areas. On-ground teams are washing and inspecting bins periodically, while conducting preventative maintenance. When bins are found to be defective or damaged, they are repaired or replaced.

In collaboration with Green Planet, BEEAH Tandeef has also deployed mechanical sweepers and vacuum vehicles, street washing vehicles and beach cleaning vehicles. Further, Ducati electric mobile waste collection units are streamlining the operations on main and internal roads, streets, and sidewalks, offering workers shade from direct sunlight, in line with occupational health standards.

The portfolio of vehicles caters to the unique environmental and infrastructural demands of the city’s high-density areas as well as public and community spaces. Skilled crewmembers are positioned in desert areas to pick up litter, empty and clear bins, as well as sweep streets, roads, sidewalks, parking areas, public transport points, roundabouts and paved pathways. Depending on the area, crewmembers use advanced waterjet-enabled vehicles, manual street washing services and specialised safari vehicles.

To drive utility of the sustainable waste management services going forward, BEEAH Group and Green Planet will also conduct on-ground awareness activities to foster a culture of recycling and proper waste disposal, including through educational programs for schools, corporates, and communities.

Speaking about delivery on the contract, Rafael Lopez, CEO of BEEAH Tandeef, said, “Egypt has a clearly outlined sustainability agenda and roadmap. We are proud to support this through our work in Sharm El Sheikh during COP27 and the decade thereafter. We are thankful to Egypt’s visionary leadership for their bold determination, their ability to adapt to the changing environment, and for their trust in our delivery of world-class waste management solutions.

“Our goal is to help Sharm El Sheikh become a sustainable, smart city of the future. Looking ahead, we will build on our existing portfolio of services, support net-zero emissions and zero-waste to landfill strategies while working towards key targets set by the Egyptian government.”

Aligning with Egypt’s sustainability agenda, BEEAH Tandeef plans to launch several specialised services, community engagement and recycling incentivisation programs. One of the services will be a specialised used cooking oil collection program, which will help reduce disposal through drains and minimise clogging of public plumbing systems.

To further encourage recycling practices, Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) will be deployed across the city, offering a seamless and digitally enabled experience for users to deposit recyclables such as plastic bottles. Personnel will also be working around the clock to collect waste and keep public areas clean. The ecosystem of solutions from BEEAH Tandeef will include GPS enabled trucks with on-board weighing systems to monitor collected waste and a fleet route optimisation platform that notifies fleet operators when bins are full using RFID tagging systems.

BEEAH Group first expanded to Egypt in 2020 by signing the region’s largest waste management contract with the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) for Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, one of the largest urban development projects in the world. BEEAH Tandeef is also in charge of executing the ACUD contract.

The signing of the Sharm El Sheikh waste management contract in September is BEEAH Group’s second contract in Egypt. The contract was signed in the presence Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, and formalised by Dr. Mohamed Maait, Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Egypt’s Minister of Environment, Major General Hisham Amna, Egypt’s Minister of Local Development, and Major General Khaled Fouda, Governor of South Sinai in Egypt.

In addition to BEEAH Tandeef’s operations in Sharm El Sheikh, BEEAH Group is part of the UAE delegation to COP27. As part of the nation’s pavilion, the Group is showcasing solutions from across its businesses, including integrated recycling at its world-class waste management complex, clean energy innovations in the region’s first commercial scale waste-to-energy plant, and smart built architecture at the BEEAH Group Headquarters, one of the most sustainable and smartest buildings in the world, integrated with AI and designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects.

Through its participation in COP27, BEEAH Group is looking to support large-scale climate action, share insights on solutions for sustainable, smart cities, and accelerate towards sustainability targets set by the UAE and the world.