More than 5,000 volunteers descended on the Dubai desert on Saturday to take part in the annual Clean Up UAE campaign.
Participants collected 12.6 tonnes of rubbish from Al Qudra’s Saih Al Salam area including plastic, cutlery and discarded food.
Organised by the Emirates Environmental Group, in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the three-hour clean-up drive began at 8.30am.
Volunteers were spread across four sites and filled thousands of bags with rubbish left behind by picnickers and campers.
The desert spot, which is popular among families and individuals, is often the target of clean-up campaigns due to the vast majority of rubbish dumped in the area by visitors.
According to recent figures by the Ministry, the UAE generates an estimated 29 million tonnes of municipal waste each year – a significant amount of which ends up in the desert.
The Clean Up UAE campaign was first launched in 2002 to try to tackle the issue. The majority of waste collected as part of the annual drive is recycled in collaboration with the different municipalities in the Emirates.
Last year, 28,500 volunteers participated in the clean up and collected more than 43 tonnes of waste across a total area of 62 square kilometres.
From 2005 to 2019, the campaign also contributed to the recycling of more than 2.4m million kilograms of glass.
