Bahrain-based waste recycling company Zero Waste Technology said it has entered into an exclusive representative agreement with Bluewater Bio International for the sale of Hybacs wastewater treatment solution.

The agreement grants exclusivity for one year with a plan to establish a joint venture company licensed in Bahrain by the end of this year.

Zero Waste managing director Najib El Khouri said: 'We believe the agreement and planned joint venture will establish a platform in our region for Zero Waste to build upon its core in the solid waste sector.'

'We also expect the agreement will deploy Bluewater Bio's pioneering Hybacs wastewater treatment technology which can help address economically and ecologically important issues relating to the efficient use, more precisely re-use, of water.'

Waste water treatment comes at a strategic time when only three per cent of the world's water is drinkable and, of that, just one per cent is fresh and available now.

According to experts, homeowners and businesses in Bahrain should brace themselves for higher water bills as the industry attempts to cope with increased demand for water.

The Middle East region is expected to invest $100 billion in the water industry in the next decade. Experts warn that countries must act to find solutions to the problem as a lack of action could threaten their economic growth.

'Hybacs is a treatment process which can biologically remove the inorganic nutrients, making treated wastewater re-usable, particularly in agricultural and horticultural irrigation,' said Bluewater Bio chief executive Daniel Ishag.

'This is of particular relevance in the Middle East, and we are delighted to enter into this agreement with Zero Waste, which itself has successfully deployed pioneering technology to treat solid waste,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service