Through its commitment to the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), BIOWayste, an offshoot company, was established under the watchful eyes of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Balamand (UOB), by Assistant Professor Dr. Yasmin Jabaly and our own chemical engineering graduates engineers Reine Metlej and Mohammad Fouani. The innovative BIOWayste system is a revolutionary invention and a solution to Lebanon’s waste management crisis by offering an effective and affordable system, that transforms “garbage and food waste” into “energy” fulfilling SDG 7 for affordable and clean energy, SDG11 for sustainable cities and communities, SDG12 for responsible consumption and production, and SDG13 for climate action.

Dr. Jabaly was successful, within the GAME accelerator program, in being awarded a $15,000 CHF grant from the International Centre for Water Management Services (CEWAS Middle East) as a business development project for BIOwayste. The acquired funds were put towards the manufacturing of 4 systems for UOB to meet its sustainability commitments and adherence to its SDGs strategy with the first machine installed on 26 October 2022 at the School of Tourism and Hotel Management to benefit from the food waste that is spawned by its restaurant into natural gas.

BIOwayste Machine converts organic waste and animal manure into Biogas and biofertilizers. The biogas is obtained through a naturally occurring process when the bacteria degenerate the organic waste, then it levitates into the gas bag where it is safely stowed. The other propitious product that is formed by the machine through the use of organic waste, is the Biofertilizer, which is emitted in a liquid form and can impact Lebanon’s agricultural verity.

Vice President for Internationalization and Engagement and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Prof. Rami Abboud praised the efforts of Dr. Jabaly and her team for supporting UOB’s strategy to be leaders in biowaste and renewable energy through our state of the art high tech facilities in the Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering laboratories. He emphasized UOB's dedication to sustainability and its efforts to provide our engineering students with the opportunity to be agents of positive change for a better future. ​