Design from waste: Review of the UAE waste management sector and experimentation on recycled materials to support the development of a sustainable and energy-efficient building market

• Published in: 2018 Advances in Science and Engineering Technology International Conferences (ASET) pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Belpoliti, Vittorino, Abbas, Heba S., Ali, Mahmood A. Abu, Al Khulaifi, Ayah M.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-02-2018
• Subjects: Concrete; Construction industry; energy efficiency; Plastics; Recycling; resource efficiency; reuse; Waste management
• DOI: 10.1109/ICASET.2018.8376765

Due to the rapid growth of the construction industry in the UAE in the last few decades, according to Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Center of Waste Management) around 44.6% of the total solid waste consists of Construction and Demolishing waste (C&D). Through a literature review of waste management strategies and interviews with environmental specialists from Beeah© and Emirates Technology©, the study concludes that the UAE lacks some systematic solution in waste management and needs to increase the awareness of resources efficiency in the construction industry. As a solution, this paper presents the first part of a research aimed at experimenting new resource- and energy-efficient building material made with local recycled waste. The study is climate-specific and examines energy performance as well as the architectural/technical needs that suit the UAE environment.