Some residents of Dubai can now schedule pick-ups for recyclable materials at their convenience. Photo: RECAPP
Some residents of Dubai can now schedule pick-ups for recyclable materials at their convenience. Photo: RECAPP
Some residents of Dubai can now schedule pick-ups for recyclable materials at their convenience. Photo: RECAPP
Some residents of Dubai can now schedule pick-ups for recyclable materials at their convenience. Photo: RECAPP

Free doorstep recycling service expands to Dubai


Sarah Forster
  • English
  • Arabic

A new recycling service that offers a free pickup service from your home is now available to some residents of Dubai.

The company, called RECAPP, was previously only on offer to people in Abu Dhabi, but due to strong demand it is expanding services to its neighbouring emirate.

The door-to-door pickup service of recyclable materials can be scheduled on the Go RECAPP app and is free.

Launching RECAPP in Dubai will enable us to significantly expand our base of recyclers, furthering our mission of supporting local communities as they strive to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle
Jérôme Viricel,
RECAPP

People must segregate their recyclables from household waste and schedule a pickup time. The items are then transported to a warehouse in Al Quoz where they are separated and baled — which is when they are compacted into hay-bale style blocks.

The warehouse has the capacity to segregate around one tonne of material daily.

“We are thrilled to bring RECAPP to Dubai after achieving tremendous results in Abu Dhabi, where we have empowered thousands of residents to take up recycling by providing a free, accessible, convenient service,” said general manager Jérôme Viricel.

“Launching RECAPP in Dubai will enable us to significantly expand our base of recyclers, furthering our mission of supporting local communities as they strive to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.”

RECAPP, the UAE’s first free-of-charge door-to-door recycling service, has announced its expansion into Dubai. Photo: RECAPP
RECAPP, the UAE’s first free-of-charge door-to-door recycling service, has announced its expansion into Dubai. Photo: RECAPP

Using the service will also earn residents points that they can redeem at selected outlets.

However, the whole of Dubai is not yet covered by the service.

At this stage, only residents in Umm Suqeim, Jumeirah, Business Bay/Downtown, Al Barsha, MBRM City — District One — Meydan, Arabian Ranches 1, and Springs/Meadows/The Lakes can schedule a pickup service.

Since its launch in November 2020, RECAPP has registered 15,000 users in the capital and collected 150 tonnes of recyclables, including plastic bottles and aluminium cans.

The UAE has made several moves recently to limit its effect on climate change.

Last week, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi pledged to ban single-use plastic bags by the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s largest industrial conglomerate outside the country’s oil and gas sector, said it plans to build an aluminium recycling plant with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year ― as it looks to decarbonise its operations.

The plant will be its first aluminium recycling centre and the biggest in the UAE, the company said.

The UAE will host CoP28 in 2023, which is expected to welcome around 120 world leaders and more than 40,000 participants.

Recycling in the UAE: in pictures

  • Abu Dhabi’s recycling station at Khalidiya. The emirate is trying to encourage more people to go green. Victor Besa / The National
    Abu Dhabi’s recycling station at Khalidiya. The emirate is trying to encourage more people to go green. Victor Besa / The National
  • Sunil Thawani, an Al Khalidiya resident does his part in recycling his trash during the opening of the first civic amenity in Abu Dhabi to promote waste segregation at source. Victor Besa / The National
    Sunil Thawani, an Al Khalidiya resident does his part in recycling his trash during the opening of the first civic amenity in Abu Dhabi to promote waste segregation at source. Victor Besa / The National
  • Rubbish is sorted at the Bee'ah Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National
    Rubbish is sorted at the Bee'ah Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National
  • Some of 120 separators, look for aluminum , plastic, paper and cardboard, amidst garbage traveling on a conveyer belt in Bee'ah's Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National
    Some of 120 separators, look for aluminum , plastic, paper and cardboard, amidst garbage traveling on a conveyer belt in Bee'ah's Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National
  • Bales of aluminum inside Bee'ah's Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National
    Bales of aluminum inside Bee'ah's Waste Recovery Facility at the Sharjah Landfill. Jeff Topping / The National
  • A truck dumps waste at the Material Recovery Facility during its opening ceremony in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Shruti Jain The National
    A truck dumps waste at the Material Recovery Facility during its opening ceremony in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Shruti Jain The National
  • View of the garbage at the Material Recovery Facility during its opening ceremony in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Shruti Jain The National
    View of the garbage at the Material Recovery Facility during its opening ceremony in Ras Al Khaimah in 2019. Shruti Jain The National
  • Sonia Nasser explains how waste is segregated at the recycling facility in Ras Al Khaimah. Shruti Jain / The National
    Sonia Nasser explains how waste is segregated at the recycling facility in Ras Al Khaimah. Shruti Jain / The National
  • Household waste that can be recycled is separated by hand at RAK's sorting plant. It is hoped an education drive and financial incentives will get residents to separate their own waste and packaging and deliver it to drop-off points. Shruti Jain / The National
    Household waste that can be recycled is separated by hand at RAK's sorting plant. It is hoped an education drive and financial incentives will get residents to separate their own waste and packaging and deliver it to drop-off points. Shruti Jain / The National
  • A landfill site in Dubai. Christopher Pike and Pawan Singh / The National
    A landfill site in Dubai. Christopher Pike and Pawan Singh / The National
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed

Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdullah%20Khan%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPenguin%20Random%20House%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E304%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

RESULT

West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' ) 
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72') 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

While you're here
'I Want You Back'

Director:Jason Orley

Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day

Rating:4/5

Updated: February 14, 2022, 9:32 AM