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Get your free recycling bags and trash it right
The agency aims to divert 75 per cent of municipal waste from landfill.

Ras Al Khaimah - The RAK Waste Management Agency launched the initiative earlier this year in a bid to modernise the waste management technology used by community members in the emirate.

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A Staff Reporter

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Published: Mon 18 Sep 2017, 8:42 PM

Last updated: Mon 18 Sep 2017, 10:47 PM

 "Together we can maintain the cleanliness and greenery of our emirate, for us and for future generations," said His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, while expressing his satisfaction over RAK Recycles, an innovative recycling programme.
The RAK Waste Management Agency launched the initiative earlier this year in a bid to modernise the waste management technology used by community members in the emirate.
The initiative has covered the Dhait, Al Rams and the southern region of the emirate so far. Next year, the initiative is expected to include Al Hamra and Mina Al Arab areas. It is also expected to be adopted by small companies, and will introduce a special recycling programme targeting individual schools.
From today, the agency will distribute locally produced free green and brown plastic bags for recycling in all parts of the emirate, to encourage people to separate food waste from other recyclable materials. The agency aims to divert 75 per cent of municipal waste from landfill, a target that is in line with the UAE Vision 2021 goals.
Speaking about the initiative, Sonia Nasser, executive director of the agency, said: "Our main objective is to improve the RAK community's commitment to sustainability and environmental protection from the grass-roots level which includes schools and local businesses and the highest echelons of government."
Small businesses will also be included in the rollout, while schools will be targeted in a separate recycling programme. Under the initiative, clean and dry plastics, paper, cardboard, cans and glass bottles will be collected in green bags. These recyclable materials will be sold as feedstock for new products, with income generated contributing to waste management costs in RAK. Brown bags will be used to collect food waste, which will then be recycled into compost and other soil enhancement products. This will be utilised in community gardens and landscaping throughout the emirate. 
General mixed waste that cannot presently be recycled will continue to be collected in black bags with the future goal of converting this waste to energy. 
reporters@khaleejtimes.com
 


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