AL AIN // Residents will soon sort domestic waste in the home, as part of broader municipal plans unveiled yesterday to reduce per capita waste and encourage recycling in the emirate. A pilot project will begin within two months, according to Dr Salem al Kaabi, Al Ain Municipality's director of public health. It will be introduced in one community before being applied throughout the region.
"Today, the importance of waste management has become a focal point for municipalities, environmental agencies, populations and companies worldwide," said Dr Kaabi. "We also need to engage the public through long-term public education in parallel." Part of the challenge is Al Ain's projected population growth. According to the municipality, it is expected to grow by more than 40 per cent in the next 10 years and will top 943,000 by 2015.
"A committee comprised of representatives from entities including Al Ain Municipality, UAE University and Al Ain police, are developing a public awareness campaign," said Dr Kaabi. "Also, our long-term strategy is aimed at reducing the per capita waste, particularly through source segregation - meaning sorting waste in the house." The sorting of domestic waste, he added, aimed to reduce the volume of waste in the city and limit the use of plastic bags.
In the first phase, the municipality will provide residences with two containers to separate wet and dry waste - organic and recyclable waste, such as cans, glass and paper - which will be collected and disposed of at a new sorting station. The rejected waste, which Dr Kaabi said would account for a quarter of the total, would go to a new landfill, which has been designed to last for 20 years. The landfill has already been built and would be operational in a month, the municipality said.
"We would like to start with villas, as it is easy to put the containers there," said Dr Kaabi, adding that the waste would be collected. Waste management services were outsourced by the municipality last year, with the company Lavajet introducing a range of services including the removal of graffiti from around Al Ain city and using quad bikes to scour the desert for rubbish. The desert environment that encircled the oasis of Al Ain had also posed its own challenges, said Dr Kaabi, leading to the development of specialised equipment for the removal of sand, particularly on roads.
As part of the public awareness initiative, an interactive campaign will also be launched. Children's cartoons, introducing special characters dubbed the "Green Team", have been developed to engage young people about the importance of recycling and the processes involved. Distributing information and visiting schools will also form part of the campaign, according to Dr Kaabi, with plans to target schools when the new academic year begins.
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