In a country that generated almost 4.8 million tonnes of trash last year, the issue of recycling is not a light matter.The issue of waste is very important in the UAE, which is a society that generates a large amount of waste per person.

Recycling is about closing the loop and changing the structure of the economy. If you can turn garbage into new raw material it's a much more efficient economy.

The Dubai Government has been pushing to develop the recycling industry.

Emirati residents have been sensitized to the issues of waste collection, landfills, and the irreversible damage to the environment and human health that can be the consequence of improper handling of tons of garbage.

Today, there is a well-defined regulatory framework for waste management supported by the UAE government. As a result, emirate regions are actively working on certain aspects of sustainable waste management. 

According to the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi-Sorting waste is of crucial importance because it reduces pollution, saves resources, and slows down the fill-up of landfills.The government has planned several initiatives to increase awareness to ?Go Green?.The GREEN campaign is an initiative to transform the negative environmental impacts to beneficial ones.The emirate?s recycling campaign has led to a start in the recycling progression over the past years. Today, locals are passionately committed to living green to minimize waste being improperly disposed.

Dubai Municipality?s ?My City, My Environment? campaign to encourage people to recycle, for example, has been an effective approach. It asked residents to separate their waste into two wheelie bins provided to each home – a green bin for all recycling and a black bin for all other waste. This has increased recycling up to 25 per cent. As a result, the recycling programme has prompted the municipality to expand it to other parts of the emirate.Dubai municipality plans to continue to encourage recycling throughout the city, and aims to recycle three quarters of Dubai?s refuse by 2018. DM hopes to expand the number of communities involved.

In the same way, the UAE government has adopted various initiatives directed towards sustainability among residents and visitors it is encouraging environmentally-friendly practices, like the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) of waste management.

A door-to-door recycling service and house-by-house collection has also recently begun in the region. Though it is still in the development phase, it is expected to contribute greatly to the success of the go green effort.

Today, national residents have to recycle refuse such as plastic, aluminum cans, glass, paper, cardboard, and other materials those who do not cooperate know they could face fines. Nonetheless, the recycling bins have made it actually easier for the community to recycle and, so far, have had a positive impact on the environment.

Dubai Municipality's goal is to recycle 100 per cent of waste by 2030.Let us hope that we will see this goal being achieved in the near future.

Personally,I have made it a habit to recycle wastes like plastics,paper and cans that are generated in my home.I also encourage my neighbours and friends to do the same and hand over all the recyclables to local environment agencies.I am also an active member of Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) and take part in all the recycling campaigns initiated by them.

Source

Dubai Blog

The National