Dulsco, the region's largest waste management service company, has urged more people to join the "Recycle to Regain" initiative. Launched in May this year, the drive has been more successful in areas where volunteers have mobilised the public.
The company's recycling initiative offers a first-of-its-kind mobile recycling unit in Dubai that aims to prevent environmental degradation by helping reduce the volume of waste that goes into landfills.
Ajay Kumar, Senior Manager Operations, Dulsco Waste Management Services, told Emirates Business: "We have had a mixed response to the initiative. We have got some overwhelming response from some areas, whereas the responses from certain other areas have been minimal. However, we would continue to be present at these places on scheduled days at scheduled timings.
"We can extend this service to any area in and around Dubai. The initiative has been successful in areas where there are volunteers to mobilise people to participate in the campaign. So we would like more people to join this effort towards sustainable development."
Those who want to participate in this initiative can get in touch with the company via e-mail or by phone. "They can e-mail their requests on waste@dulsco.com or call 800 WASTE (92783) and our team will be happy to discuss timings and collection days," he said. According to the company, Dubai continues to produce large amounts of waste every day even as the GCC has been ranked as one of the top 10 waste producers in the world. Economic development, a rising population and a lack of public awareness have largely contributed to the increasing levels of waste being produced by Dubai and the rest of the UAE.
The Recycle to Regain campaign aims to be part of the solution to address this growing waste issue, which has a very strong impact on public health, the environment and the long-term sustainability of society.
Kumar said: "There have been a lot of awareness campaigns in the media and in schools on the need for segregation of wastes and recycling. However, we observed a gap in the waste collection system around Dubai, wherein the public does not have an option to dispose off the segregated waste they generate. So, even though the public segregates the recyclables, they are forced to dispose these off in single garbage bins as they do not have any other options."
Dulsco has provided a custom-made vehicle for the Recycle to Regain initiative, which visits residential areas, shopping malls, commercial areas on a regular schedule to collect separated recyclable waste such as paper, plastic and cans. The campaign, which is poised to be expanded across the UAE in the near future, also serves to educate the public on the need for recycling and their responsibilities regarding the concept of "segregation at the source".
Kumar added: "We are trying to help environment-conscious people by being near their locality with our mobile recycling initiative. This is a specially designed mobile recycling vehicle that has compartments to collect the segregated wastes separately, thus helping to recycle these resources. We hope more residents will show interest in it."
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