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Environmental and economic sustainability in the Hajj system

Article in Arabian Journal of Geosciences · October 2021

DOI: 10.1007/s12517-021-08533-x

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Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2021) 14:2121
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08533-x

REVIEW PAPER

Environmental and economic sustainability in the Hajj system

Faisal Abdulrhman Osra1 · Jaber S. Alzahrani2 · Mohammad S. Alsoufi3 · Oumr Adnan Osra4 · Agha Zeeshan Mirza5

Received: 2 June 2021 / Accepted: 28 September 2021

© Saudi Society for Geosciences 2021

Abstract
Hajj season is considered one of the major events during which many resources are consumed, and huge amounts of waste
are produced with feelings estimated at nearly 50 thousand tons. When comparing the occasion of Hajj to other major reli‑
gious occasions, we find that we have dozens of times the quantities of waste, which indicates that there is a huge drain on
natural and economic resources and high levels of pollution in the region that may affect this whole society. Accordingly,
the trend towards achieving this principle of circular economy leads to reaching the sustainability of the Hajj system in the
holy sites in all environmental, economic, and social aspects and making it a global role model for major events. The review
highlights a mechanism to increase the efficiency of the exploitation of natural resources and reduce the consumption of
the resources and preserve the natural environment of the holy sites for the longest possible period and reduce the different
effects on this region.

Keywords Economic sustainability · Hajj · Solar power · Wind power

Introduction about millions of Muslims performing the same religious

Makkah is the origin city of Islam and every year hosted
around 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide and has 2 million
residents. Every year, millions of Muslims visited from
around the world to the holy cities of Makkah and Madi‑
nah to worship in the form of pilgrimage (Hajj) and Umrah
(Rehan et al. 2016). Hajj is a religious obligation hosted by
Saudi Arabia and inviting about 3 million pilgrims for 1
week each year (Fig. 1). It is the most crowded occasion with
Responsible Editor: Amjad Kallel
* Agha Zeeshan Mirza
dr.zeeshan80@gmail.com
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Umm Al Qura University,
Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2
Industrial Engineering Department, Al‑Qunfudhah
Engineering College, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah,
Saudi Arabia
3
Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering
and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah,
Saudi Arabia
4
College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm
Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
5
Chemistry Department, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Umm
Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
duties in a specified period and limited areas. Large disasters
have also occurred over the years as accommodating large
crowds in a limited space and time is challenging (Still 2000;
Johansson et al. 2012).
The importance of achieving sustainability in the holy
sites is very important. The mechanism involving sustain‑
ability during the Hajj season is gaining a lot of attention to
utilize the best global practices to preserve this holy region.
To achieve high efficiency in the exploitation of resources,
it is necessary to rely on the principle of circular economy
and the shift from a linear economy, which means the shift
from extraction, production, consumption, and throwing out
towards the exploitation of resources with the highest pos‑
sible efficiency and the best practices available for the long‑
est possible period. Recent statistics published by UNEP
indicate that for every 1% growth in GDP, resource con‑
sumption increases by 0.4%. This is the general goal of the
circular economy. The more resources are reused through
different reuse, treatment, and recycling processes, the less
the new raw materials will be depleted. At the same time,
the amount of waste generated will decrease. The circular
economy is considered an economic, social, and environ‑
mental development approach. It depends on the design of
the resulting waste and pollution, keeping the products and
materials in use for as long as possible, renewing the natural

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2121 Page 2 of 15
Fig. 1  Total number of pilgrims
in 10 years (General Authority
for Statistics, GASTAT)
environment, and so on. In short, the circular economy prin‑
ciple is based on the conservation of resources, assessment
of the life cycle of materials, products, and the mechanism
of waste disposal.
The present review focuses on utilizing available
resources to preserve and reduce important natural resources
as fuel and value-added products to achieve more sustain‑
ability in terms of economic, social, and environmental com‑
ponents. The present review also highlights the limitation
of available resources and discusses the recent progress for
achieving and enhancing the efficiency to preserve and sus‑
tain the holy sites for the most extended period.
Solar power
To achieve sustainability for any nation, the reliance and
importance of electrical energy cannot be ignored. For
this purpose, using renewable energy sources has now
been vastly accepted by governments. Renewable sources
have broad potential to generate electricity, and among the
sources, solar energy is regarded as one of the vital points.
Many organizations and countries have contributed a lot
in this direction by investing and researching generating
electricity via solar energy instead of burning fossil fuels.
In terms of petroleum consumption, Saudi Arabia has the
highest rate in the middle east, and it is four times the high‑
est primary energy consumption per capita from the world
average (Munira n.d.).
It is believed that, if renewable sources are effectively
used, the production of energy will be much cheaper than
coal or fossil fuels (Sannidhi et al. 2020). With indus‑
trial growth, energy and electricity demand have also
increased, and the total energy consumption is rising
13
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
rapidly. Although the Kingdom is the leading oil pro‑
ducer and consumer, a keen interest to exploit renewable
resources such as solar energy has dramatically increased
so that the natural resource can be preserved and make
the environment greener. The investment in this renewable
sector is planned to be $100 billion to achieve one third
of the electricity requirements (Munira n.d.). The use of
solar photovoltaic and wind systems as renewable energy
sources has significantly increased worldwide. Renew‑
able energy consumption has increased worldwide every
year and is continuously rising. It has also been reported
that photovoltaic capacity was far more than wind power
capacity worldwide (Badwawi et al. 2015).
The geographic location of Saudi Arabia offers excel‑
lent potential for using solar energy as a renewable source
as it lies in the sunbelt area with 2200 thermal kWh/m 2
sunlight falling on it. Solar energy can be utilized by
processing sunlight through photovoltaic cells (Fig. 2).
Moreover, the compensation for the cost of solar energy
systems can be accounted for when the damages to the
environment and human health are considered (Almasoud
and Gandayh 2015). The regional dominance of Saudi
Arabia in its region can play a crucial role in keeping in
view its regional power. Saudi Arabia can play a vital role
in promoting solar energy, and it may also become an
exporter in the future, thereby augmenting the oil wealth
(Munira n.d.).
The annual average solar irradiance of the Kingdom
is even more than in Japan, one of the leading producers
of the global solar cell (Yu et al. 2016). Moreover, most
unused lands in the region can be used for this purpose. An
expert has assumed that if solar panels cover only 5% of the
Saudi Arabia areas, it would be more than enough for the
power need (Scientists in Saudi Arabia 2020). However, high
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
Fig. 2  Photovoltaic power
potential of Saudi Arabia (2019,
The World Bank, Source:
Global Solar Atlas 2.0, Solar
resource data: Solargis)
temperature during the daytime, i.e., above 40°C, is the main
hurdle for solar panels (Scientists in Saudi Arabia 2020).
It is expected that about 50% of the KSA electricity will
be fulfilled by renewables sources in 2030. It has been fur‑
ther shown at KAUST near Makkah City that the use of
atmospheric water vapor cooling has the potential to increase
the production by 13 to 19% of electricity in the winter and
summer. Renewable solar energy has the advantage of mak‑
ing the environment greener, thereby fighting against global
warming and playing a role in the circular and decarbonized
economy (Scientists in Saudi Arabia 2020).
Utilizing solar energy through the photovoltaic system
can be significant in the future for the holy city of Makkah
(Yu et al. 2016). Saudi Arabia has installed two MW photo‑
voltaic cells in Jeddah, near Makkah City, which has started
operations in 2010 and can produce 3300 MWh of clean
energy and stop 1700 tons of carbon emissions annually,
having the case of 65 million Saudi riyals (National solar
systems 2010). Moreover, the world’s largest solar parking
Page 3 of 15 2121
project is located in Dhahran Saud Arabia, which has a
­ 2
10-MW carport system with a capacity to cover 200,000 m
(Almasoud and Gandayh 2015).
Wind power
Apart from solar energy, wind energy systems as sustainable
sources are also gaining paramount importance and have
shown a primary role in sustainability. They have shown a
mature and valid solution for fulfilling sustainable develop‑
ment (Mendecka and Lombardi 2019).
Renewable energy sources have been promoted by poli‑
cymakers worldwide so that the dependence on fossil fuels
can be reduced and to act under the Paris agreement’s long-
term temperature goals (Giani et al. 2020). Recent years
have seen enormous wind energy use onshore and offshore,
with offshore growing more rapidly than onshore. Offshore
wind speed has better speeds and is also more steady than
13
2121 Page 4 of 15
nearby land sites. Moreover, with the drop in offshore wind
energy prices, it has become as competitive as fuel and
nuclear power. It has attracted the attention of industries
and politicians, and nearly all developed countries are work‑
ing on it. Wind energy’s broad significance is also mak‑
ing the environment greener and reducing air pollutions.
When comparing the development of wind energy sources,
offshore sources are superior to onshore sources in several
ways (Chen et al. 2020). Due to the rapid progression of
the wind turbine industry in recent years, in 2017, only 53
GW of a wind turbine were added, which covers 5.6% of
electric demand worldwide, according to the International
Energy Agency. New offshore wind turbine reached 18.8
GW in 2017 (Mendecka and Lombardi 2019). Mendecka
and Lombardi presented a model on wind energy technolo‑
gies’ environmental impacts to produce electricity. It was
concluded that wind velocity plays a significant role as an
impact indicator for using low-power turbines to generate
electricity (Mendecka and Lombardi 2019).
The target of achieving wind energy of 9 GW in 2012 in
Saudi Arabia (Giani et al. 2020) was revised in their cur‑
rent plan of “Vision 2030” (Nurunnabi 2017) to 16 GW
(REPDO 2017). This shows the commitment of Saudi
Fig. 3  Saudi Arabia renewable resource atlas, available at https://​rratl​as.​energy.​gov.​sa (accessed 30 November 2018)
13
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
Arabia to transfer to renewable sources despite being one
of the biggest producers of oil in the world. (Figs. 3 and 4).
However, there is still a need for a lot of work to support
the goal of renewables through scientific projects. Currently,
in the northwestern province of the Kingdom, Al Jouf, the
first onshore wind project is under construction in Dumat Al
Jandal and is expected to be functional in 2022 (The EDF
2020). Dumat Al Jandal has a capacity of 400 MV, one of
the largest in the Middle East (Timmerberg et al. 2019), but
would only fulfill 2.5% of the target set by “Vision 2030”
(Giani et al. 2020).
It is expected that 26% of the electricity demand will be
fulfilled by wind energy with the levelized cost with build-
out is 39 USD M ­ Wh−1. Henceforth, Saudi Arabia will
become the role model for wind energy in the Middle East as
the wind resources in Saudi Arabia confirm the competitive‑
ness. Coastal areas in the northwestern part of the country,
besides the Gulf of Aqaba, recommend the most commercial
wind reserve potential having turbines illustrated by moder‑
ate specific rating (350 W­ m−2) at comparatively short hub
height (75 m) (Giani et al. 2020).
Also, the western mountains areas of Saudi Arabia have
more abundant wind resources than the Red Sea coastal
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
Fig. 4  Locations of wind moni‑
toring stations at Saudi Arabia
regions. In contrast, wind variability is more in coastal areas
along the Arabian Gulf than the Red Sea areas (Yip et al.
2016). Makkah is located 70 km inland south of the Red Sea
port of Jeddah (Rehan et al. 2016). The Hejaz mountains at
the east of Jeddah are onshore locations with a high preva‑
lence of wind resources (Yip et al. 2016).
Sustainable solid waste management
Millions of people visit Makkah’s holy places each year,
which has led to an increment of solid waste generation.
Most of the waste is dumped into landfills without any
recovery process, which might be a threat to the environ‑
ment and human health (Rehan et al. 2016). The production
of this vast amount of solid waste calls for the proper instal‑
lation of the solid waste management system. Numerous
solid waste types are generated in Makkah including medical
Fig. 5  Solid waste quantities
generated (ton) in Makkah
(2005–2015)
Page 5 of 15 2121
waste products, homesteads, demolition wastes, factories,
and slaughterhouses (DCOMM n.d.).
The urbanization and population magnification, coupled
with an increasing number of pilgrims, has made the huge
generation of municipal solid waste (Fig. 5). Since 1993, the
number of pilgrims has been increasing almost at a rate of
1.2%, and this rate is expected to increase after the expan‑
sion of the Holy Mosque, housing, and transportation facili‑
ties. In addition to the increasing number of pilgrims, the
local population is also incrementing above 3%. In 2014,
2400 tons of municipal solid waste were generated dur‑
ing the average days; however, this figure increased during
the Ramadan and Hajj to 3100 and 4600 tons, respectively
(Ouda et al. 2017; Nizami et al. 2015). In 2014, about 1.4
Mt of refuse were generated, of which 0.94 Mt was gener‑
ated by locals and 0.24 Mt by pilgrims (Rehan et al. 2016).
This solid waste is dumped in the Kakia open dumpsite with
almost no treatment. Using these figures, municipal solid
13
2121 Page 6 of 15 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121

waste generation is expected to be at least 2.2 Mt by 2040 Table 1  Construction and municipal solid waste quantities (tons)
(Fig. 6). (1994–2005)
As a cardinal rule, municipal solid waste in Makkah is Year Construction waste Municipal Total solid waste
collected, transported, and dumped. This mechanism is solid waste
considered the most frugal way of managing solid waste.
1993 506,511 134,165 640,676
Construction debris has also increased enormously (Table 1)
1994 469,171 178,185 647,356
due to road construction, subways, housing facilities, and the
1995 446,216 202,720 648,936
enlargement of the Grand Mosque. Most of this solid waste
1996 482,529 209,013 691,542
is transported by private trucks weighed as they enter the
1997 537,002 134,135 671,137
landfill (Al-Ghamdi and Abu-Rizaiza 2003). However, this
1998 592,837 124,867 717,704
data may vary considerably, thus requiring one transporta‑
1999 628,604 131,365 759,969
tion system. Though some variation can be seen in Makkah’s
2000 612,002 127,250 739,252
municipal solid waste, it mainly comprises organic matter
2001 654,358 151,050 805,408
(food, cardboards, and paper), plastics, and metals (Alotaibi
2002 708,160 135,303 843,463
2016; Nizami et al. 2017; Shahzad et al. 2017).
2002 - - -
The solid waste production averaged 2.1 and 1.6 kg/day
2003 - - 850,000
for pilgrims and residents, per individual between 1994 and
2006, respectively (Abdul-Aziz et al. 2007). In 2015, the
generation rate was almost 1.7 kg/day (Nizami et al. 2015).
Moreover, the average solid waste generation in 2004 was Waste to energy
1.2 kg/day. However, it reached 2 kg/day during peak months
in Makkah City (MEP 2005). In medium cities, the solid Waste to energy (WTE) is a process through which waste is
waste generation rate was 1.2 kg/day, while in small towns, it managed to generate energy. The main aim of WTE is to fos‑
was almost 1 kg/day in 2013 (GCC GCC 2014). Expanding ter the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recover). Energy can be pro‑
these values, the solid waste quantity from 2016 to 2035 for duced by waste by utilizing the gases such as methane and
Makkah city was estimated (Fig. 7). The total pessimistic carbon dioxide that are generated due to the decomposition
solid waste generation capacity of Makkah city from 2016 of solid waste through the anaerobic process of digestion.
to 2035 will be 32 million tons, while the average density of The energy produced due to solid waste can be beneficial
this solid waste can be estimated as 600 kg/m3 (Nizami et al. in a number of ways for sustainability. The energy can be
2017). Most of the garbage in Makkah comprises organic obtained by either direct incineration of waste or using the
matter, which accounts for 48% of the total waste (Osra et al. generated gases such as methane (Mali Sandip et al. 2012;
2021). Management of waste in Makkah is a highly chal‑ Jeswani et al. 2013). Landfill gases can be considered as
lenging job, accounting for the high generation of waste in a technique of WTE. Solid waste includes food residue,
seasons during Hajj and Ramadan. The implementation of a plastics, paper, and other inactive components (Tsai 2007).
sustainable methodology for waste disposal, material recy‑ Plastics can be accounted for as one of the major sources
cling, and recovery is the need of time (Nizami et al. 2017). of pollution, and their uncontrollable use is a threat to the

Fig. 6  Projection of municipal

solid waste generation during
Hajj and Umrah (2016–2040)

13
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
Fig. 7  Estimated solid waste
quantities (2016–2035)
environment. The pyrolysis technique has been used for con‑
verting plastic waste into liquid fuel (Rehan et al. 2016). The
food industry has a huge part in the production, and their
production of waste is high, which includes fats, proteins,
and carbohydrates. These wastes are suitable for the genera‑
tion of biomass and renewable energy.
With a global warming potential of 25 over 100 years,
methane is the largest climate change driver after carbon
dioxide (IPCC 2006). ­CH4 has an average span of 12 years
in the atmosphere. The total ­C H 4 emissions contribu‑
tion towards greenhouse gases (GHG) was 14.3%; meth‑
ane from landfills contributed 2.8% in 2004 (Froiland and
Pipatti 2006; Bo-Feng et al. 2014). The contribution of
methane towards GHS effects is on the rise; in 2010, it was
4% (Nations U, Programme E 2010). In some countries, the
rise is too much; for example, in China, the methane emis‑
sion was over 75% between 1970 and 2008 (Edgar 2011).
The release of these landfill gases after biological processes
(anaerobic respiration) has a diverse effect on the environ‑
ment. Methane production in landfills is the leading cause of
fire in such places (Mønster et al. 2015; Kjeldsen and Chris‑
tophersen 2001). The impacts of any WTE system vary from
system to system. Changes in location, solid waste compo‑
sition, configuration, operating conditions, and post-gener‑
ation control techniques affect the system’s performance.
Changes in these factors can positively or negatively impact
the WTE system (Kothari et al. 2010).
Landfill gas generation
Landfill gases are a mixture of numerous different types
of gases and vapors. Methane (­ CH4) and carbon dioxide
­(CO2) top the landfill gas list. Landfill gases contain about
Page 7 of 15 2121
45–60% methane; 40–55% carbon dioxide; and the rest
being ammonia, sulfides, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and
volatile organic compounds (Omar and Rohani 2015; Kim
and Owens 2011; ASTDR 2012).
Landfill gas generation depends on the constitutes of solid
waste and environmental conditions. Landfill gas generation
results from degradation processes that depend on several
factors such as the air composition of the atmosphere. The
presence of oxygen promotes aerobic respiration, which
increases ­CO2 production, while oxygen at high tempera‑
tures favors the formation of volatile compounds (Contrera
et al. 2015; Scheutz et al. 2011; Huber-Humer et al. 2008).
However, the main biological process that occurs in land‑
fills is the anaerobic process. The byproducts produced from
aerobic respiration can be neglected (Bolan et al. 2013).
Landfill gas generation potential generation can be calcu‑
lated from the composition of the substrate. The amount
of landfill gas generation varies from site to site; however,
using empirical data or anaerobic degradation tests, the rate
of landfill gas generation production can be determined. In
a year, 200–300 ­m3/ton of fresh MSW produce 1–40 ­m3/tons
of ­CH4 (Bo-Feng et al. 2014).
Landfill gas generation is a product of solid waste
decomposition. The decomposition rate of wastes deter‑
mines the rate of landfill gas generation production; when
decomposition ceases, landfill gas generation also ceases.
Although significant gas production begins after 200 days
after disposal, gas production starts as soon as the SW
is placed in a landfill (Emkes et al. 2015). Landfill gas
generation production occurs in two stages during anaero‑
bic respiration. In the first phase, bacteria break complex
organics into organic fatty acids. During this stage, there
is no methane formation. Methanogenic bacteria break
13
2121 Page 8 of 15
down the fatty acids from the first phase to form methane,
carbon dioxide, and other LFG (Bo-Feng et al. 2014; Cao
and Staszewska 2011). The anaerobic process is estimated
to last between 6 and 17 months after landfilling (Omar
and Rohani 2015; Shafi et al. 2006). Landfills can yield
0.06–0.53 ­m3/kg of LFG in 50 years, and 6.8 mega J/m3
(450 BTU/ft 3) of energy can form (Eklund et al. 1998).
The LandGem model evaluated energy recovery potential
from the solid waste in Kakia, and it was found that open
dumpsite has the potential to produce 83.52 m ­ 3 per ton of
methane (Osra et al. 2021).
Pyrolytic liquid fuel
The second-largest waste stream is plastics, which make
up to 23% of the municipal waste and comprises plastic
cups, bottles, plates, and shopping bags. These plastics are
dumped into landfills or other sites without any recovery or
recycling (Nizami et al. 2017).
Pyrolysis is a useful technology for converting plastic
waste into liquid fuel and other products such as char. The
process converts carbonaceous wastes through a thermal
process, having temperatures 300–500°C without oxygen
to be converted into fuel (Rehan et al. 2016).
Through pyrolysis, different types of plastics such as
polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene have been suc‑
cessfully converted into fuel and other materials as char and
gases without any catalyst (Demirbas et al. 2015; Sharma
et al. 2014). The liquid fuel produced from pyrolysis shares
the same properties as conventional diesel (Sharma et al.
2014). This fuel can be utilized for various purposes as a
source of energy, such as electricity generation; as fuel for
transportation; and heating purposes.
It is estimated that due to the increase in plastic waste,
the amount of liquid fuel will also increase and is estimated
to reach up to 0.412 million tons in 2040. It was assessed in
2016 that plastic waste in Makkah City could produce 87.91
MW of electricity, which may increase up to 172.8 MW by
2040 (Rehan et al. 2016).
It is believed that 199.7 thousand Mt. ­CO2 eq. of the
global warming potential can be attained by reducing 7.9
thousand tons of emitted C ­ H4 through pyrolysis technology
in Makkah. Moreover, 297.52 million SAR can be saved
from the diversion of the landfill, generation of electricity,
and carbon capture through pyrolysis in 2016. With a further
increase in these economic benefits, it is expected to 584.83
million SAR in 2040 (Rehan et al. 2016). Liquid fuel can be
generated from municipal solid waste by using the pyrolysis
technology, which in turn has the potential to run at a very
large scale and require moderate labor skill. It can be located
in Makkah and can have a tremendously beneficial impact
economically and environmentally (Rehan et al. 2016).
13
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
Slaughtering waste
It is Muslim culture to sacrifice animals; therefore, millions
of cows, sheep, and camels are slaughtered throughout the
year. An annually large number of animals are slaughtered
during Hajj in Makkah City. For this purpose, transport of
animals to Mina and disposal of carcasses in a few days
according to strict ritual are proof for management expertise
(Brooke 1987). Around 700,000 goats were slaughtered dur‑
ing Hajj. Each animal slaughtered produces approximately
38% on average as waste. For example, a small goat of 7 kg
can generate 1.5 L of gore (Abdul-Aziz et al. 2007; Mohd
Zin et al. 2012). The blood from these animals is currently
poured in Wadi Fag-Herman valley while untreated. Being
a waste in semi-solid form provides a fertile ground for bac‑
teria that can be fatal to the environment (Hadidi and Omer
2017). Running a treatment plant for such waste during the
offseason may be uneconomical; however, incorporating
such wastewater treatment plants can solve the enigma. The
gore can also be utilized in other industries such as food
and pharmaceuticals (Mohd Zin et al. 2012). The anaerobic
digestion process is an important phenomenon for convert‑
ing waste into energy by generating biogas. Slaughter waste
biogas generation using anaerobic digestion of slaughter
waste for recovering energy can be an eco-friendly and
renewable source. Moreover, such plants may have numer‑
ous benefits including capturing and using methane which
is a very powerful greenhouse gas, thereby creating solid
fertilizer and less organic load on received water (Rouf et al.
2016).
Integrated hybrid renewable energy system
Biomass includes agricultural wastes, which are a valuable
resource for renewable energy as they are dispersed widely
and have no carbon emissions. Biomass can be converted
into renewable by the pyrolysis process and is in use com‑
mercially also (Joardder et al. 2012).
In a topographical area, solar energy and agricultural
residues are dependent on the season and are loosely dis‑
persed. A high-resolution satellite image in this context is
highly beneficial for the estimation for the assessment. This
methodology has been implemented to obtain integrated
renewable energy system-based plants at having low cost.
Rice husk can be utilized to generate an ample amount of
electricity (Sannidhi et al. 2020; Abedin and Das 2014).
Rice husks can also be used as a renewable energy source
and have the potential to generate energy. Hence, the cost of
industrial processing units has been decreased by using solar
and rice husk for power generation. A hybrid global model
relying on solar and integrated biomass to generate power
and energy can develop a smart town with an eco-friendly
environment in tropical areas (Sannidhi et al. 2020). The
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
use of biomass can be an efficient and cost-effective way of
producing energy. It has been reported that replacing gas
boilers with biomass can reduce 95 tons of C ­ O2 per year. It
was shown that the biomass of date seed could be efficiently
used in boilers in place of gases (de la Cruz-Lovera et al.
2019). The production of dates in the KSA is increasing for
the last 5 years and in the year 2019, around 1,310,015 Mt
dates are produced (NationMaster n.d.). The date seed’s bio‑
mass can be converted into liquid, char, and gas by a pyroly‑
sis system. The oil from date seed is an essential source of
alternative fuel (Joardder et al. 2012). Another study showed
that date seed could be utilized for some purposes as it con‑
tains 5–13% oil. Moreover, it can be utilized in food product
formulations, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals (Mrabet et al.
2020).
CO2 utilization in fuels and valuable products
Another form of energy source that is reliable and steady
and is derived from plants is biomass. The utilization of
this form of energy worldwide is mostly for warmth and
cooking purposes. However, biomass releases a high amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which can be used in
the generation of fuel, alcohol, and methane generation if
captured (Abedin and Das 2014).
Around 80% of global emissions are accounted for by the
G20 countries, and to steady the global warming at 1.5°C,
global emissions need to be addressed and neutralized by
2050 (Howarth et al. 2019).
CO2 emissions amounting to about 410 ppm is an alarm‑
ing rate that has created disasters worldwide through global
warming and climate change. These changes have disastrous
effects in the form of droughts, hurricanes, floods, and so on,
causing a number of deaths and loss of billions of dollars
(Anwar et al. 2020). It has been reported that Saudi Arabia
Fig. 8  Total ­CO2 emission in
KSA during the last 10 years
(International Energy Agency,
IEA)
Page 9 of 15 2121
has the highest growth rates of emission of ­CO2 among G20
countries (Howarth et al. 2019). In Saudi Arabia, fossil ­CO2
emissions increased to 0.92% in 2016 over 2015 (Fig. 8)
(Edgar 2011). It is assessed that in Saudi Arabia, 15.94
tons of C
­ O2 emissions per capita are for per person in 2016,
which was found to decrease to −1.3% C ­ O2 emission per
capita per person from 2015 (Edgar 2011). Around 95% of
the overall Kingdom emission is due to road transportation
in which gasoline vehicles account for 69% of fuel consump‑
tion and vehicles with diesel uses 31% fuel. In comparison,
light- and heavy-duty vehicles account for 52 and 40% of
the KSA vehicle fleet (The Saudi Energy Efficiency Centre
2018). Pilgrims preferred to used small vehicles than buses
responsible to utilized more fuels, ultimately increasing the
rate of emission of ­CO2 (Fig. 9) (The Saudi Energy Effi‑
ciency Centre 2018).
The guidelines of Vision 2030 are making the evolution
for green economic revolution. Thus, using renewable and
nuclear energy will further develop significant economic
growth while making the country greener (Howarth et al.
2019).
CO2 is an important greenhouse gas, and it can be con‑
verted to other useful forms as fuels and valuable products
by capturing it. In developing countries, the use of seques‑
tered ­CO2 for desalinization would be severe for overcoming
shortages of water and energy. Sequestered ­CO2 can produce
algae with wastewater; thereby, generating biofuels is one of
the promising methods. Other methods such as direct com‑
bustion, fermentation, transesterification, pyrolysis, anaero‑
bic digestion, and gasification can also be used to convert
algae into biofuel. Capturing air directly is another technique
to absorb C­ O2 from the atmosphere and convert it to other
energy resources such as ­CH4. In this way, various issues
such as climate change, water security, and energy crises can
be addressed. However, more effort is needed to make the
13
2121 Page 10 of 15
Fig. 9  Number of arriving
vehicles to Makkah carrying
pilgrims at 2018–2019 (Gen‑
eral Authority for Statistics,
GASTAT)
methods cost effective and commercially applicable (Anwar
et al. 2020).
Sustainable food management
Limited arable land and scarce water resources, which are
diminishing restrict Riyadh, limit the domestic production
need. Therefore increasing the import of food and using
alternative water resources might in the future prove to be
critical for sustaining the food and water supplies (Oelofse
et al. 2020).
According to the Barilla food sustainability analysis, the
wastage of food in the KSA is ranked as number 1 (The E
Fixing food n.d.). It has been estimated that Saudi Arabia
has the highest rate of wastages, and food waste is of grave
concern to maintain sustainability. Food wastage accounts
for 165 to 511 kg annually per capita. Due to limited agricul‑
tural production, the consumer and retail levels are the main
focus for the involvement (Baig et al. 2019).
According to the Ministry of Environment, Water, and
Agriculture, the annual wastage of food costs $13 billion,
which may increase to $17.5 billion by 2020 (Whitman
2016). Moreover, wastage of food puts an unnecessary bur‑
den on the economy as it has to be replaced, and this depend‑
ency on other countries cannot be ignored (Baig et al. 2019).
Most importantly, the current pandemic is an eye-opener if
all borders get closed; how we can manage the scarcity of
food and water so that those items that can retain for a longer
time and have less wastage output should be considered.
However, from supplementary materials, it was assessed
that the Saudi estimate was based on an unclear data source
(The E Fixing food n.d.).
13
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
The KSA Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agricul‑
ture (2106) has reported that annual food wastage in King‑
dom causes a loss of SR 49 billion to the national economy
(Saudi Arabia 2018). This loss of food may be attributed
to various social customs as at parties, weddings, and res‑
taurants, a large amount of food is offered to guests while a
large amount of leftover food is wasted. On average, wastage
of food annually in Saudi Arabia is 250 kg of food, while
globally, it is 115 kg. In the same way, grains are highly
consumable items in Saudi Arabia, which on average is 158
kg per person, while globally, it is 145 kg per person.
To sustain the food chain and food security, it is important
to reduce food wastage in a region. The highest amount of
wastage of food occurs during the holiest month of Ramadan
in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. It is estimated that
nearly 30–50% of the prepared food is wasted during this
month only (Oelofse et al. 2020). Wasted food is accumu‑
lated in the landfills in the KSA, and it releases a significant
quantity of greenhouse gas methane after decomposition
(Adebayo Bello and bin Ismail 2016). In 2013, the gener‑
ated waste was 13 Mt, amounting to cost $161 per ton to
manage, which was equivalent to high-income countries
(Koukosia et al. 2013; Hoornweg and Bhada 2012). Inap‑
propriate landfill designing leads to a harmful effect on the
environment and people’s health by releasing leachate, waste
sludge, methane, and odors. Many KSA cities are now plan‑
ning new landfills to avoid these harmful effects (Baig et al.
2019).
Different procedures are adopted to utilize food wastage
to make it cost effective and environmentally friendly. In
this context, in many cases, it is recycled into the animal
feed so they do not accumulate in landfills (Salemdeeb et al.
2017). In other cases, heat treatment is mandatory to avoid
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
outbreaks of diseases by utilizing proper instrumentation for
this purpose (Baig et al. 2019).
Another method involves using food wastages to pro‑
duce biogas and as fertilizer after anaerobic digestion. This
procedure has attracted significant attention in recent years
as reliance on oil reserves only for energy consumption is
decreased if other renewable sources are utilized. Invest‑
ment for this purpose has also increased recently to convert
wastages into energy (Khan and Kaneesamkandi 2013).
Furthermore, according to the study in 2013, it has been
assessed that most of the waste in the KSA is organic, hence,
using anaerobic digestion would yield positive results for
energy output (Khan and Kaneesamkandi 2013). It further
noted that since the KSA is in a tropical region with high
temperatures, anaerobic digestion will be the most effective
way to treat organic waste with expected biogas plants giv‑
ing revenue of more than SR 4.7 billion annually (Alruqaie
and Alharbi 2012). In another study, it was concluded that
among most of the energy generation techniques, demetha‑
nation technology would be highly suitable for the KSA due
to the highest number of food waste for feedstock (Ouda
et al. 2016).
In Makkah, municipal fat could also be used to generate
biodiesel. According to it, 62,500 tons of biodiesel could be
produced by utilizing 51% of food wastages, which could
generate 852 million kWh of electricity (Shahzad et al.
2017). Net revenue of SR 611–1274 million (USD163–340
million) could be added annually to the Saudi economy,
from 2014 to 2050, by landfill waste transformation and
using renewable energy production sources (Baig et al.
2019).
Recommendations
It is mentioned in Quran that every Muslim visited the
Holy Mosque at Makkah City at least once to perform pil‑
grimage in his life. The speedy urbanization is responsible
Fig. 10  Municipal solid waste
composition (%) in Saudi
Arabia
Page 11 of 15 2121
for the immediate increase in the local population at Mak‑
kah City and a continuous increase in the number of pil‑
grims each year, affecting a vast municipal solid waste
production (Rehan et al. 2016). Makkah City is still using
traditional procedures to collect waste and dump it at the
Kakia open site. Different cities have different waste man‑
agement methodologies, and Makkah is also dependent on
the legislation.
Solid waste management is a continuous process, as
it involved recycling, reuse, and recover, also known as
3Rs. The advanced dumping mechanisms used in different
industrialized countries are considered cheap, environment
friendly, and more sustainable (Koroneos and Nanaki 2012).
However, it is challenging to implement these methods in
undeveloped countries, and solid waste is removed without
any treatment. To get the reduced landfills, a few of the cities
already executed the solid waste management system at the
KSA through 3R techniques (Alsebaei 2014). Medina City
holds the best solid waste management system among all
cities in the KSA as it has implemented the 3Rs approach.
Poor landfill management results in contaminating ground‑
water (Alsebaei 2007; DES 2011). Due to this, the KSA
has introduced a 3Rs system of solid waste management
by implementing countermeasures to stop malignant effects
(Ouda et al. 2013; Varbanov et al. 2015).
The major portion of the organic waste is generated in
wastes (Magram 2015; Alananbeh et al. 2014) (Fig. 10).
Although some progress in solid waste recycling has been
made by the Ministry of Economy and planning in KSA in
2005, 35% of the solid waste was recycled (MEP 2005).
However, this figure dropped to 24%, according to the Coop‑
eration Council for the Arab States of the Gulf report due
to an increase in solid waste (GCC GCC 2014). It can be
attributed to the fact that recycling only occurs in Riyadh
(capital city), Jeddah (second-largest city), and Dammam
(MEP 2005), where factories are working on some recy‑
cling. At the same time, hazardous materials are exported
to other countries where it is cheaper to treat such chemicals
13
2121 Page 12 of 15
Fig. 11  Waste composition in
Makkah districts
(Alsebaei 2007). However, there are no such recycling plants
in Makkah.
The organic component almost contributes three quar‑
ters of the total solid waste in Makkah. However, plastics
dominate the composition of the solid waste festive season
of Umrah and Hajj (Fig. 11). This high concentration has
both malignant and benign effects; they decompose, form‑
ing leachate that can contaminate water (Renou et al. 2008);
during composition, they generate a considerable amount
of landfill gases that can be expended to generate electricity
(Tan et al. 2015).
Conclusion
The present study revealed the mechanism to reach sustain‑
ability through economic, social, and environmental com‑
ponents according to Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The review
also recommended an execution to increase the effective‑
ness of the development of natural resources and decrease
the expenditure and maintain the natural environment of the
holy sites for the longest possible period and reduce the dif‑
ferent effects on this region. By implementing a 3Rs system
and proper solid waste management, the solid waste gener‑
ated could be controlled. It is challenging to implement 3R
techniques in Makkah, and solid waste is removed without
any treatment. However, during Hajj and Ramadan, supe‑
rior methodology and techniques are required to be imple‑
mented to surmount the burden of solid waste management.
The policies of Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia are making the
13
Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:2121
transition towards green by economic transformations and
energy competency. The pyrolysis technology can have a
positive impact if implemented in Makkah city. However,
more research is required to adopt pyrolysis technology.
Solid waste management has changed considerably from
the simple accumulation and dumping to sound-engineered
mechanisms.
Acknowledgements The authors extend their appreciation to the
Deputyship for Research & Innovation, Ministry of Education in
Saudi Arabia, for funding this research work through project number
20-UQU-IF-P1-001.
Availability of data and materials Data and materials are available upon
request.
Declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable.
Consent for publication Not applicable.
Conflict of interest No competing interests have been reported for the
manuscript.
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