Said Altouqi
Oman Environmental Services Holding Company - be'ah, Oman
Title: Closure of Dumpsites in Oman
Biography
Biography: Said Altouqi
Abstract
The journey of the closure of dumpsites in Oman and replacing them with engineered landfills has taken less than 6 years. Open dumping of waste had been the predominant practice of waste disposal in Oman before 2011, when the first engineered landfill started receiving waste. With a total area of approximately 27 km2, there were more than 300 operational dumpsites scattered over the country and receiving over 5000 tons of municipal, construction, industrial, and other types of solid waste as well as liquid wastes on a daily basis. Most of those dumpsites were frequently on fire, located near residential areas, and lacked the simplest waste management and environmental protection and control measures. Those conditions exposed the people living in the vicinity of those areas to great human health threats from the contaminated air and groundwater. The Omani government decided to take action to mitigate those threats by privatizing the waste management sector and establishing solid waste management infrastructure, including 11 engineered landfills and a number of transfer stations, which would replace the practice of operating dumpsites. A comprehensive assessment program for the 40 major dumpsites in the country was conducted to create a list of the top priority sites in terms of their environmental impacts. Those dumpsites have been gradually taken out of service and cleaned up in a relatively short period of time from 2014 to 2019.