Karama residents can now recycle waste smartly

Dubai - A total of 13 recycling centres are expected to be opened in strategic and popular areas throughout Dubai by the end of the year in the first phase of the project.

Dubai Municipality officials launched the second smart centre for collecting recyclable material in Karama on Sunday. As part of 'Smart Sustainability Oasis Project', the centre was in-stalled just outside Karama Park to encourage Dubai residents to segregate and recycle 18 kinds of waste.The first centre was launched at Al Manara Centre on Shaikh Zayed Road last May. A total of 13 recycling centres are expected to be opened in strategic and popular areas throughout Dubai by the end of the year in the first phase of the project.
Issa Al Haj Maidour, Deputy Di-rector-General of Dubai Municipality, said the recyclable collection centres are steps towards convert-ing solid waste to energy and be-coming a smart and sustainable city as part of Dubai Plan 2021."The key is to raise people's awareness on waste sorting, which is the biggest problem in waste management," said Maidour. "Getting people to adopt the habit of sorting and recycling waste in an international challenge, not just locally.
The best thing about those smart centers is that their technology, shapes and color-cod-ed slots speak to the various nationalities in the UAE and educate them about sustainability."Figures showed that Dubai generates an average of 8,000 tonnes of waste every day with each resident contributing about 2.7kg, which translates into almost 1,000kg per 2016 person a year.
Authorities estimate that the city recycles 25 per cent of its waste, which it hopes to increase to 75 per cent by 2021.Abdul majeed Saifaie, director of waste management department, told Khaleej Times that the smart project came up after expats voiced their concerns on the lack of recycling locations."Many expats said they carried their materials back home for recy-cling as they did not find a place in Dubai.
The centre provides a place for residents to reduce their waste and contribute to the community's wellbeing," said Saifaie. He added that the next centres will be installed at Al Rashidiya Park, Umm Suqeim's public beach, Nad Al Hamar, Mirdif Park, Al Twar Centre, Hatta Centre and Al Khawaneej Walking and Cycling Track. There are future plans on coop-erating with shopping centres to adopt the project and cover its costs. Union Coop was among the parties who showed interest.
The locations were picked based on their popularity among people. "Residents keen on recycling usu-ally come with their cars carrying items for recycling," said Saifaie. Makani code installed on the centres will help residents deter-mine their locations. Ossama Al Natour, managing di-rector of Averda, the company that has partnered with the municipal-ity to collect the rubbish deposited at the facility, said demand on the first facility at Al Manara Centre was good. "We expect the use to pick up in September when the weather cools," he said. "It is a new project for the com-munity and will require time to see real difference."sherouk@khaleejtimes.co

• UAE