No wasting of energy

Following a trend practised in some other countries, EDAMA, a local business association interested in innovative solutions for the energy and water crises, decided to turn waste into much needed energy.

Jordan reportedly produces 16,000 tonnes of waste daily, which goes unexploited commercially and costs a great deal to recycle into harmless products.

At a recent meeting organised by EDAMA in Amman, it was disclosed that 32 companies from different countries, including Brazil, the US, Germany and France, are bidding to tap this source of energy and have submitted their intent to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral resources for consideration.

Turning trash into energy is ideal, especially in a country that produces much waste.

The government and the municipality, in this case and hopefully just for the beginning, the Greater Amman Municipality, responsible for collecting the waste, now show interest in the idea; the Amman mayor pledged, at the EDAMA meeting, to make Amman a model capital city that turns garbage into energy.

Much credit for giving attention to this source of energy goes to the local business community, which established EDAMA in the first place and took the initiative to highlight the great commercial potential of turning garbage into a valuable, cost-effective source of energy.

Now that there is interest in this project, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as well as GAM should take up the foreign enterprises’ offer to exploit waste, estimated to amount to more than two million tonnes annually.

Given the scarcity of energy sources in the country and the prohibitive cost of fuel to the national economy, using waste to produce much needed electricity, and in the process leaving the country a cleaner place — or, to use a catchier phrase, trash for cash — can only be a win-win situation.