EEG satisfied with success of recycling programme

DUBAI - The Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) held a Press conference in Dubai yesterday to discuss and share information on its recycling centres project, that has spread in schools across the UAE over the last several years.

By Zaigham Ali Mirza

Published: Tue 1 Apr 2003, 11:57 AM

Last updated: Thu 22 Feb 2024, 11:43 AM

Addressing the meeting, which included the group's corporate members, collection centres (recycling project), member schools, volunteers and individual members, Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of the EEG, expressed satisfaction on the growth and success of the recycling project.

"For the past decade, organisations and experts preached the benefits of recycling, but unfortunately, they did not often manage to lay down a practical, convenient method to implement such thoughts; so recycling, for a very long time, remained in the realms of theory, and wishful thinking," she said.

She added that by providing practical recycling programmes, designed to suit the society and community of the UAE, the EEG took recycling a step further and made it part and parcel of people's daily lives. "Awareness of the importance of recycling is definitely an essential aspect of our work, but it is never enough to influence people's values and attitudes without providing an efficient and effective mechanism that help people proceed from the stage of having good intentions, to that of having actual good practices and actions" she commented.

The EEG began a modest and local can-collection campaign in schools over a decade ago in 1992. By 1997 this project developed into a year long campaign, culminating in the annual "Can Collection Drive", where schools, corporate members, hotels, and individuals participated, she noted.

The paper recycling campaign was initiated in January 2001, as a year round campaign, and had participation of various organisations, both educational and from the private sector, while in June the same year, PET Bottle Recycling project was started as a pilot project.

The recycling centres were launched in January 2002 and have since become a prime and excellent example of developing strategies for partnership between environmental NGOs, civic bodies, the private sector, and the community at large, to promote waste management, she noted.

Giving details on the recycling centres project, she said that there were 33 such centres around in educational establishments across the UAE in 2002, while this year, the number of establishments with recycling centers has grown to 56 as compared to EEG target of 50 in the first phase. She added that there are 16 centres in government schools, eight in government offices, 25 in private schools, four in colleges/ universities and three in companies.