Sharjah, January 11: Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated a medical waste treatment facility in Al Sajja area of Sharjah.
Addressing the opening cermemony, Shaikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman of Wekaya, a company specialising in the management of medical and hazardous waste, said that Sharjah’s development and growth under the prudent vision of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Meber of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah are based on an element of human security and protection of human rights, growth and environment have always been a priority.
In his speech, he said: “Under the directives of Dr Shaikh Sultan, we will spare no efforts in developing and minimising risks to the environment and public health. There is no doubt that the initiative will improve public health. As the country is an active member of the World Health Organization (WHO)” Al Qasimi added. “Wekaya will collect, transport and treat medical waste. We are planning to launch Phase II of the project in the near future, which is the treatment of hazardous waste.” he said
Khalifa Al Shibani, Managing Director of Wekaya, said that the plant will be the first of its kind in the UAE .
“Bee’ah, the Sharjah Environment Co, signed a partnership agreement with Green Planet to launch Wekaya in the Sharjah emirate.
According to Al Shibani, the facility has a capacity of approximately 350-400 kg/h, with each cycle lasting for 45 minutes. “All medical waste generated will be coded and weighed for the purpose of back-tracking in case of violations and record keeping. These records could, for example, be used at a later stage to introduce new tailored waste reduction policies,” he said.
Wekaya has also arranged a fleet of trucks, designed according to the highest international standards and recommendations of the WHO, to transport the emirate’s medical waste, the volume of which has been estimated at 3.5 tonnes a day.
“For big medical waste generators such as hospitals, Wekaya will provide 120 litre bins for safe storage,” said Al Shibani. Wekaya’s collection team will exchange these on a daily basis.