Road-cleaning services go hi-tech

About 150 municipal workers collect nearly 13 tonnes of accident wreckage, litter and sand from Dubai’s main highways every day.

To make their job easier, Dubai Municipality has introduced a new fleet of 15 vehicles that will do emergency road-cleaning services, a senior official said on Sunday.

Yaqoob Mohammed Al Ali, head of Specialised Cleaning Section at the Municipality’s Waste Management Department, said the fluorescent-coloured vehicles with flashing lights will be used for swiftly cleaning up Dubai’s main highways of accident debris, sand particles and litter.

He was speaking to Khaleej Times after the official launch of the new fleet at the opening of this year’s Clean up the World campaign, the country’s largest voluntary clean up drive.

“We collect about 13 tonnes of waste from the main roads in Dubai every day including accident debris, like tyres and parts of vehicles, goods fallen on the roads from vehicles, and sand and bushes on the roads,” said Al Ali.

“These trucks with side-loading facilities are used for emergency clearing of main roads. The new vehicles help us to quickly clear up the streets by collecting such rubbish. They are also equipped to clear any possible oil leakage after accidents,” he said. Noting that debris on the roads can also cause accidents, the official said his team works in cooperation with the Dubai Police and Civil Defence. “We want to make the roads smooth as soon as possible after any accident so that we can also help in clearing the traffic piling up after accidents.” He said the emergency road cleaning vehicles that offer 24-hour service double up for road-sweepers at night. “They will cover about 150km of main roads and sweep away the sand accumulated on the roadside.”

Director of Waste Management Department Abdulmajeed Abdulaziz Al Saifaie said the vehicles have been purpose-built and are visible from a long distance so that commuters can avoid areas where the workers are engaged in cleaning activities.

He said this year’s campaign will focus on spreading the message of shared responsibility in preventing littering. The official said a number of activities involving students and volunteers have been arranged for the campaign.

Earlier, Director-General of Dubai Municipality Hussain Nasser Lootah launched the week-long campaign under the slogan “Our Place ... Our Planet ... Our Responsibility.” An exhibition of various waste management services and recycling methods was arranged at the venue of the launch on Al Saeed Road. — sajila@khaleejtimes.com

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