On April 18^th, the Palestinian Engineering Association in cooperation with the Construction and Transportation Research Center at An-Najah and the Palestinian Concrete Society organized a workshop on recycling remnants of building materials at the Korean-Palestinian IT Institute of Excellence, New Campus. Attendees included a number of academics, representatives of the different sectors in the Palestinian work market, as well as engineers, students and others.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Nabil Dmaidi, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at An-Najah, gave a speech in which he welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of investing in and recycling the remnants of building materials as being one of the significant alternatives that can be useful to the Palestinian production sector.

The workshop consisted of two sessions. The first included a lecture by Dr. Riyad Abdel Kareem titled “Recycling of Building Materials-Thoughts and Applications-Part 1” and another by Dr. Muhammad Taha Al-sayyed, Chair of the Palestinian Concrete Society, titled “properties and Uses of Recycled Concrete”   

The second session consisted of three lectures. The first one was titled “Recycling of Building Materials-Thoughts and Applications-Part2” by Dr. Abdel kareem, while the second was titled “Post War Rubble Removal and Potential Use of Recycled Construction Rubble in Gaza Governorate” by Dr. Khaled Al-Sahli, Director of the Construction and Transportation Research Center. The lectures were followed by a presentation of local students’ experiences, as well as a discussion of the workshop’s sessions directed by Dr. Sami Al-Hijjawi, from the Palestinian Engineering Association – Al-Quds Center.

Dr. Abdel Kareem’s paper discussed the issue of recycling and reusing the remnants of building materials that result from the destruction of buildings or any remnants of concrete. Instead of throwing those remnants in open areas, they are treated and recycled in construction work and pavement.

Dr. Al-Sahli spoke about Gaza as a case study that deserves substantial recycling work especially that its has been subject to huge destruction which left huge amounts of remnants after the war. The process of recycling is very important in Gaza due to the fact that building materials are not allowed to enter Gaza; therefore, the Palestinians have only one option which is recycling.

On his part, Dr. Al-Hijjawi presented a number of graduation projects done by the students at the Faculty of Engineering at An-Najah in the field of concrete and building materials recycling processes.