In line with Saudi Arabia?s Vision 2030, the Waste Collection and Recycling Company (WASCO), integrated recycling and waste management company, has announced the launch of phase two in its innovative waste sorting facility in Al Ahsa
Originally planned for its official launch five years after phase one of the project (inaugurated in 2017), phase two has now been fully approved to supply the increasing demand for recycled materials in the kingdom.
Al-Ahsa Municipality launched the waste sorting plant project in accordance with environmental best practice requirements while adopting the latest high-tech equipment. New technology utilised in phase two of Al Ahsa includes a significant investment in optical sorting, the automated process of sorting solid products using near infra-red (NIR). With the capability of automatically detecting and sorting materials quickly and effectively, optical sorting will allow the Al Ahsa waste sorting facility to dramatically improve the recycling yield and increase overall productivity.
Eng. Najib Fakih, president of WASCO, said, ?Phase two of Al Ahsa symbolises WASCO?s commitment to utilise state-of-the-art waste sorting technology. Using a combination of sensor technology and software-driven intelligence, optical sorters at Al Ahsa recognise an object?s colour, size, shape and structural properties and then compare them to pre-defined criteria to identify suitable materials to be recycled.
?As WASCO moves forward in its ambitious waste management objectives, innovations deployed in Al Ahsa phase two will ensure the company maintains it?s positioning as the largest waste collection and sorting company in the Middle East and Africa while continuing to expand its reach regionally. Furthermore, the WASCO team is thrilled to welcome numerous high-profile guests to its facilities in Al Ahsa to review the latest advancements in its waste sorting projects.?
WASCO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Middle East Paper Co. (MEPCO), collecting over 40 per cent of Saudi Arabia?s waste paper through a fleet of collection trucks in various locations and supplying 26 collection centres around the kingdom and the Middle East. Founded in 2004, WASCO?s current collection capability is almost 500,000 tonnes per year.
