For a region that has faced a desertic climate since time immemorial, conservation efforts such as recycling are not alien and definitely not a big undertaking for UAE.Recycling has ever since been a vital portion of UAE?s rich desertic culture and heritage which gives it a greater affinity to adopt conservation practices similar to recycling.

This is evident from the very fact that merely two days back, UAE?s leading waste management company, Bee?ah, signed a contract with Al Kalba Municipality, for the provision of waste collection, management and treatment services in the city.

 According to the five-year contract, Bee'ah will provide waste management services for public, residential, commercial and agricultural areas under the municipality's jurisdiction, as well as hauling services to the landfill in Kalba. Bee'ah will be committed to provide a modern fleet and work on increasing public awareness of environmental issues among Kalba's residents, urging them to keep the city clean and beautiful.

Not only will this aid in recycling efforts but it also ascertains that the awareness of recycling percolates to each and every strata of society.

In the past, UAE was considered to be one of the biggest contributor in the production of waste material around the world.

In a country that generated almost 4.8 million tonnes of trash last year, the issue of recycling is not a light matter.

The UAE generated 22 per cent of the 22.2 million tonnes of waste produced in the Gulf countries in 2009 according to a study released at the Middle East Waste Summit.

However, UAE?s strategy to tackle the waste issue whose root cause was the region?s speedy growth in market and industry in a few decades, was quite unique.

Unlike several countries of our globe, UAE used the concept of recycling to power its economy.

It enhanced the idea that recycling is about closing the loop and changing the structure of the economy. The nation utilized the concept that if we can turn garbage into new raw material it facilitates a much more efficient and quicker economic growth.

Bee?ah is contributing by rolling out a residential recycling programme in the UAE so individual homeowners will have a way to recycle.

UAE firmly believes that, apart from current actions, drafting out future recycling plans are preeminent.

For instance, the Dubai Government has been pushing to develop the recycling industry.

"Dubai Municipality?s goal is to recycle 100 per cent of waste by 2030," said Ajay Kumar, senior manager at Dulsco Waste Management Services.

"Whether we can achieve this goal is debatable. Having said that, we believe with the required legislation and best of business practices, we can achieve near about 100 per cent if not 100 per cent itself."

Besides individual and government action on recycling, entrepreneurs and businesses have also taken up recycling as part of their major CSR projects over the years.

Union Paper Mills tries to encourage recycling by offering companies paper boxes in which to put their waste paper. "If you give them solutions they are happy to do it. We collect from more than 300 companies," said Shabir Haideri, group general manager of M.A.H.Y Khoory, the parent company of Union Paper Mill.

While it may seem that UAE is taking sufficient action at its level best, it is only consistency and enthusiasm that can make these recycling actions and awareness projects a sustainable form of success which can persist well-into the future?

Credits-Dubai City Guide, Thomson Reuters, Google Images