Dr. Thani Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and business leaders today attended a meeting at Emirates Global Aluminium on re-using industrial waste. The event was held under the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s ‘UAE Toward Cleaner Production’ initiative to reduce UAE industries impact on the environment and improve its global competitiveness

At the event, entitled ‘Towards a Cleaner Production’, Al-Zeyoudi recognised EGA, EcoCem Industrial Ecology, Eco Industrial Solutions, JK Cement Works, Lafarge Emirates Cement, Pioneer Cement Industries, Union Cement Company, and Star Cement for their pioneering work since 2010 to re-use waste from aluminium smelting in cement manufacturing.

Last year, EGA supplied over 37,000 tonnes of spent pot lining to UAE cement plants, more than its average annual production. Under UAE Vision 2021, the UAE Government wants to ensure sustainable development whilst preserving the environment.

Al-Zeyoudi said, "We are very proud of the remarkable achievement of EGA and its cement industry partners. They have set an example of how industries can work together to make waste productive rather than a problem. With creativity and cooperation, one industry’s waste can be another industry’s feedstock. This will benefit our industries and help preserve our environment while strengthening the global concept of circular economy."

Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said, "All industries produce materials that we currently call ‘waste’. If we think differently, in future there will be no such thing as waste, just by-products with other uses. In the longer term everything is recyclable. We just need to find the right recycling solution."

The event also witnessed an innovation lab to explore innovative ideas for sustainable consumption and production, engaging material manufacturers as producers, and construction and real estate companies as consumers. The global aluminium industry produces over 1 million tonnes of waste each year according to industry experts. Much is stored indefinitely, and outside the UAE some is even sent to landfill.

EGA has adopted a recycle-reuse-reduce philosophy to minimise waste generation and has an ongoing aim of zero process waste to landfill. Over 80 percent of the waste EGA generates at its Jebel Ali smelter is now recycled, as is over half of the waste from its smelter at Al Taweelah.

Earlier this year, EGA became the first Middle East-headquartered aluminium company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, a global programme to foster greater sustainability and transparency in the aluminium industry.

In close coordination with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Prime Minister’s Office, EGA completed a Government Accelerators project in February to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from its power plants in 100 days. Within this short period, EGA managed to reduced its NOx emissions by 16 percent, beyond the 10 percent target of the accelerators. This is equivalent to removing 450,000 cars from the UAE’s roads.