KT for Good: Yes, we can win the war against plastic

In the final part of our series, we highlight what youngsters, organisations and individuals pledge to do.

Study after study on plastics is only revealing appalling results on how much plastic junk we have made and the numbers are grim. Now, many youngsters, organisations, companies and individuals pledge to not let plastic enjoy the sort of anonymity in ubiquity that it once did.
Leading the way is the Emirates Environmental Group, which is on a mission to engage the community in local actions that create global impacts. By organising various green drives, it encourages individuals to actively participate in its recycling campaigns.
The EEG started its plastic collection campaign in 2002 and since its inception, the group has collected more than 1 million kilos of plastic for recycling. This has resulted in mitigation of 1,670 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalence (MTCO2e) and saving of 58,879 million British Thermal Unit (BTU) of energy and 42,989m3 of landfill space.

The EEG does this by actively engaging students in their waste management projects. Under these projects, those entities who successfully collect plastic bottles for recycling and deposit them at the EEG office are awarded with an appreciation certificate. As an incentive, a sapling will be planted under their name in December of every year, under the banner of "For Our Emirates We Plant".
Sharjah's environmental management company Bee'ah also rewards residents for their recycling efforts. Residents can put empty plastic bottles in their reverse vending machines (RVMs) that are placed in malls, government institutions, universities and airports in select locations of Sharjah and Dubai.
Once the recyclables have been deposited, the RVMs print receipts with a unique bar code. The user will then use the Bee'ah rewards tab in the Bee'ah mobile application to create an account and enter the receipt codes they collect. The monthly winners get gifts that are selected through a random draw and announced on Bee'ah's social media accounts.
Optical products company Canon sends out regular mails to its employees, educating them on why it is important to reduce plastic waste and giving them tips such as upgrade from water bottles to water dispensers at home and work place. The company implemented several initiatives across the last few years in their office to cut use of one time plastic/paper cups and encouraging their employees to use the glass cup or water containers. It has also installed several water containers around the office, discouraging the use of plastic bottles.
saman@khaleejtimes.com

• KT For Good