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Beaches will be cleaner

Hassan Makki, Assistant Director of Environment Department and Head of the Waste Services Section at the municipality, said the municipality took delivery of the machines last week.

"The delivery of these machines is timely as beaches are now increasingly being frequented by tourists visiting the emirate. Beach cleaning machines are used to remove debris and litter. The machines are mechanical raking devices which are towed by tractor and are capable of removing even cigarette butts."

Makki said the mechanical cleaning of beaches was a fast and effective method of removing litter and debris from beaches.

"Large areas can be covered in a relatively short time with beach cleaning machines. They are effective as well as economical compared to the manual cleaning of beaches. All public beaches are subject to a cleaning service. The frequency of cleaning depends on factors such as the usage of the beach and the incidence of litter and debris," he said.

"The new machines will be put into service after the operators are trained and service schedules are drawn up. They are vastly improved models and incorporate advanced features," said Makki. "Besides having larger hopper volumes, they are also faster, with a wider reach so that large areas can be covered easily."

Unlike conventional machines which employ only 'raking' to remove litter, these machines also have a screening capability. They can be operated in dual (raking and screening) mode thereby delivering superior results.

Makki said the purchase of these machines has come from the larger quest to improve the quality of cleaning and waste collection services in the emirate.

"With rapid urban development and rising numbers of visitors to Dubai, the department is upgrading services through a co-ordinated approach, addressing all steps in the service delivery chain," he said.

These measures include improved equipment specifications to incorporate new technologies and increase productivity and advanced training for drivers and operators. In recent years, the department has also co-ordinated with suppliers to incorporate custom features into some categories of vehicles and equipment and has endeavoured to purchase versatile machines which have a wider service range.

The department operates a very large and specialised fleet of over 350 vehicles and machines including refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) and machines required for street cleaning such as vacuum assisted sweepers (VAS). There are also exclusive tankers for washing refuse bins and there's even one to remove tenacious dirt such as chewing gum stains and graffiti from surfaces and pavements.

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