Waste has long been a problem in the UAE. 2007 government statistics from the SOE (State of the Environment Abu Dhabi) estimated that 1,532 tonnes of municipal waste were generated in the capital, daily. It claimed that per inhabitant, a potential 2.3kg of waste was being thrown away every day (1.54kg was the average in Western countries). In short, Abu Dhabi had become a ‘throw-away society’; but it’s a trait that we’re seeing replicated across the nation.
Until recently, recycling was simply unheard of in the UAE. Many of the facilities needed to recycle a vast amount of items were simply not available, and to a large extent still aren’t. Recycling is still in its infancy in the Emirates, but we are starting to see a change.
A fundamental issue, advises Habiba Al Marashi of the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), remains getting the public involved. ‘People can plan things in order to minimise wastage,’ she says. ‘If we need to throw things away, we should always remember to segregate or recycle at source.’
That said, ‘the majority of waste arises from the construction sector,’ Habiba admits, and whilst green codes are being introduced to regulate new buildings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, there is as yet no requirement to manage their waste.
It is an idea Mr Singh, a representative of Zenath Star, a Gulf-wide recycling company, would like to see applied across the whole of the UAE. ‘The government should put in place the much-needed recycling infrastructure and make segregation of waste at source compulsory,’ he cautions. But a problem still remains in getting the recycling message across.
Zenath is responsible for collecting and exporting 150,000 tonnes of paper per annum for recycling; it also helps recycle glass and aluminium locally, distributing it to centres in Jebel Ali, Dubai and Fujairah. More importantly, it is building facilities at Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali to handle the recycling and reuse of plastic and steel (until now difficult to recycle in the UAE). Having to export recyclables large distances rather defeats the ecological message, but by building up a local infrastructure instead of relying upon exports, Zenath is showing the way.
And it’s not the only one. A serious recycling drive requires not only government funding but commitment, something which we’re seeing in the creation of the 1,500,000 sq ft Dubai Recycling Park. Based in Dubai’s Industrial City, it will take in recyclable waste from across the UAE by the time it is completed in mid-2009. But until it materialises, there is a feeling that there remains a gap in environmental education across the UAE, particularly in encouraging young people to recycle.
It is an issue with which the EEG is actively concerned. As well as arranging for workplace and school collections of paper, glass, aluminum and plastic, the majority of which is recycled within the UAE, it is currently working with the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) to set up a proposed 10 recycling centres in the capital. These would significantly target colleges, universities and schools in a bid to help educate the next generation, although it is worth noting that schools in the capital do often run recycling schemes, albeit usually restricted to parents of pupils.
However, the options for the public are growing. As well as Zenath and EEG, Envirofone has recently started operating across the UAE, providing workplace pick-ups and recycling stations for old mobile phones. ‘We collect over 1,000 phones a day,’ says spokesman Stewart Fleming. These are then broken down into their constituent parts and recycled locally via companies like Zenath, he explains, or where that isn’t possible, sent to Europe and Asia. This service is only set to increase as they begin to cater for all types of e-waste (laptops, monitors and CPUs).
But it isn’t all positive news. Go Green, a company which previously ran printer cartridge recycling programmes across the UAE, donating funds to Médecins Sans Frontières, has had to temporarily suspend its service due to the global credit crunch and a lack of international buyers (although it hopes to begin again later this year). It is a reminder that recycling is still pretty fragile in the UAE. Until government regulations are in place to encourage both the public and private sector, and the option of simply throwing yesterday’s paper or drinks carton in the bin is removed, the likelihood of a recycling revolution remains slim.
