Artificial Grass in the UAE Could Save Water

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(DUBAI, UAE) -- It's not natural, but it is green and can help preserve water and reduce carbon emissions. Artificial grass is coming to the UAE, the country with the highest water use per person in the world. A lot of that water is for grass, plants, and trees, most of them not native species that require almost constant watering to survive.

According to the United Nations, GCC countries are among the world's highest per capita water users; in the UAE residents average 550 liters a day, 80 percent of which is produced by energy intensive desalination. Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be investing nearly $33 billion over the next five years in power plants, desalination units, and sewage systems to meet future demand.

"If a family of four reduced their time in the shower by one minute per day, they would save 11,079 liters of water a year, or filling a bathtub only halfway would save 13,870 liters per annum," said Markus Oberlin, General Manager of Farnek Avireal, a company that advises building owners on how to dramatically cut carbon emissions and utility bills.

Water to keep a natural garden green costs $11 per square meter per year. Therefore, Oberlin explained,

"the cost of installing synthetic grass is paid back in less than four years. Over ten years the savings (on a 200 square meter garden) amount to approximately $13,600," he added.

In addition, each square meter of natural grass produces 9 kilos of carbon dioxide through irrigation and regular garden maintenance."Modern, low maintenance, natural looking artificial grasses are in widespread use in Europe and North America but are surprisingly rare in the Middle East where maintaining natural grass is much more costly and damaging to the environment," said Oberlin.

Farnek Avireal is a joint venture company between Khalifa Juma Al Nabooda Group of the UAE and Avireal AG of Switzerland. With offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and more than 1,500 people, Farnek Avireal maintains over 1,000 properties on behalf of international and regional companies, including the world's tallest tower, Burj Khalifa.

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