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1,500 skips to collect garbage in the capital

ABU DHABI - Onyx Gulf, the French company which has been awarded the contract to clean and collect solid waste from various parts of the capital recently, said it would install 1,500 containers by the end of August from which solid waste would be collected by 50 trucks in a more efficient and orderly manner.

The company collects solid waste from areas on the right side of the airport road running through the middle of the city till clock tower and stretching to Mina Zayed, Lulu and Sadiyyat Islands besides the densely populated adjoining localities.

The Abu Dhabi Municipality had awarded the contract to Onyx Gulf, a subsidiary of the French company Onyx, which is responsible for cleaning and collecting solid waste in London, Paris and Barcelona. In Abu Dhabi too, the company would implement a system of collection similar to those in use in these cities.

The company, which began operations on July 5, has three months to phase-out the trucks taken over from the municipality and to replace them with new ones of its own, along with a modern collection system. The improvement in collection services is mainly based on a high-tech system, which is performed with new compactor trucks equipped with a lateral arm to lift the containers and empty them into the truck. The drivers, in an air-conditioned cabin, pilot the arm with a kind of joystick and monitor the process on a screen connected to a video camera. A computer records all the data as to the time, weight etc. for operational purposes. The new containers would be covered with lids and are water-proof to prevent littering and leakage. All these containers will be washed and disinfected by a special mechanical washing truck. The improvements to the cleaning and collection process would be complemented by a task force which is well-organised and uniformed personnel equipped with light equipment and mechanical tools including large mechanical sweepers for the main streets, small sweepers for parking areas and the Corniche and cleaning machines for the tunnels.

Onyx Gulf, realising that the success of its work depended on the residents' cooperation, has appealed to the people to stop littering the streets, to drop waste in the containers and baskets and to use solid plastic bags. Residents will be encouraged to participate in the cleanliness drive through future public awareness campaigns on the theme "All Together for a Clean City."

A new depot has been built in Mussafah zone, comprising a large yard to park the fleet of 50 vehicles, an office building and a garage for maintenance and repairs. Onyx Gulf has rented a labour camp from the municipality, where arrangements to house the labour force are in progress.

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