Recycling is about more than sorting glass bottles from plastic ones. It is an activity that speaks volumes about how society interacts on its most basic level. In Europe, recycling is part of the culture and the results of this engagement can be seen in the strangest of places. Take supermarkets, where shoppers are often charged for plastic bags to reduce their numbers in landfills. As a result, many people carry cloth tote bags, which have become unlikely fashion statements. Recycling chic, as it were.
As The National reported yesterday, Abu Dhabi is embarking on an ambitious 25-year recycling plan that will practically be a revolution in waste management. The master plan will introduce a “sustainable circular economy” by integrating new recycling facilities with existing ones and restructuring landfill arrangements. One of the most important components of the plan hinges on education and public awareness campaigns that will aim to change the way we perceive recycling and its role in our daily life.
Of course, recycling is nothing new for this part of the world – decades ago, it was the norm – but building the infrastructure needed for large scale efforts will set Abu Dhabi apart as a leader in green waste management. While 25 years might sound like a long time, the work of public awareness has already started.
The collective burden of recycling forms an important type of camaraderie, however unlikely it may sound. It is through this sort of community engagement that recycling programmes can become important social assets for the region.
This new master plan is a reminder of our place in the environment. Given the recent push to introduce greener forms of energy production, such as solar power, we are arming ourselves with some of the best technologies that will pay huge dividends for future generations. Consequently, though this might seem unlikely at first glance, recycling is so much more than the simple sorting of bottles from newspapers. It is a kind of glue that keeps societies joined together, especially as it considers its obligations to generations yet unborn.
