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 Despite living in a tiny country with limited water and resources, Israeli entrepreneur and scientists are showing their commitment to working with nature and developing technologies that use resources sustainably and ecologically.
From the private sector to non-profits to the government, there are inspiring projects underway in Israel in many arenas.
Eco Tower
The Ecotower, the first “green” office tower in Tel Aviv, will have a clearly marked separate plumbing system for recycled water that will be used to flush toilets as well as for watering the two gardens that will be an integral part of the green building design. This system alone is estimated to reduce water usage by 13,000 litres every day.
Infra-red taps, humidity control and water-saving toilets are being installed in the building to help reduce water consumption. It is estimated that the tower will save over four million litres of water each year, when compared to equivalent office buildings in Israel.
An extensive array of photovoltaic panels will be installed on the roof of the office tower to supply the building’s electricity needs.
Air-conditioning use will be reduced due to windows being made from locally-produced insulated, recycled glass that allows almost two-thirds of natural light to pass through while reflecting more than a quarter of the sun’s heat – a vital consideration in the hot, dry climate of Israel.
Focus On Water
As water is so scarce in Israel, there are many projects in the pipeline to not only reduce water usage and recycle water, but also to improve water quality. One such project is a joint effort combining research teams from both Israeli and Palestinian universities to address the issue of water purification in the region and raise the water quality for both Palestinian and Israeli residents.
The team is currently working on a research project that will recycle secondary waste water or salt water into clean, pure drinking water using Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology .
One of the main issues with current RO methods that the team is addressing is bio-fouling: bacteria forms a microbial film on the membrane used to filter water which drastically reduces the performance of the membranes, making RO a relatively inefficient and expensive method of water purification.
Ministry of the Environment
Much of the positive changes in Israel are headed by the government, with the Ministry of the Environment pushing for many changes and passing bills that support ecological development and environmental protection.
One such bill, the Environmental Enforcement Bill, was recently passed to give environmental inspectors wider powers to enforce laws in Israel and to punish environmental offenders, both in the private sector and by government departments.
This is in keeping with the Ministry’s recent announcement of a zero-tolerance policy towards environmental offenders.
More Recycling
A new scheme was announced earlier this year by the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection to raise rates of household waste recycling from 13% to around 55 percent . This will amount to around 150,000 tons of household waste sent for recycling rather than sent to landfill annually.
Under the scheme, there will be government funding for increased kerbside recycling collection in municipal areas as well as grants for public education and the construction of new recycling plants. New recycling separation bins will be provided to residents with an information and education program to help people adjust to the new system included in the grant.
Sustainable Electricity
A further benefit of the improved recycling scheme is a new project backed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection that will see the development of sustainable electricity from biogas generated from organic waste .
Organic waste separated from household recycling collection will be combined with wet agricultural waste to generate green energy that will feed into the national power grid. The ambitious project is being developed with a strong focus on sustainability and recycling, and will not only represent around two million tons of household waste and five million tons of agricultural waste saved from landfill annually, it is also projected to generate 160MW of electricity within the next seven years. This represents an estimated two percent of the nation’s electricity needs over the projected time period.
Grants have been funded for the development of several small biogas plants around the country, with plants receiving funds as part of a feed-in tariff for electricity that is generated for the national grid.
It seems every week there are new and inspiring ecological projects announced in Israel and the feeling is very positive, with people becoming more and more aware of environmental issues and the benefits of sustainable living.
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