Fujairah residents voice concerns over uncollected rubbish

People living in the picturesque east coast town of Murbah claim that erratic rubbish collection is a health hazard.

Illegal waste dumping is common in the Murbah area, where residents are unhappy at poor disposal facilities. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

FUJAIRAH // People living in the picturesque east coast town of Murbah have voiced concerns over uncollected rubbish from homes as well as building waste, which they say creates a foul odour, attracts insects and creates an eyesore.

Emirati residents of Al Hara said bags of rubbish often go uncollected for more than a week at a time, and are sometimes left to pile up when communal bins outside villas are full, while debris from building sites is dumped on waste ground or at the side of the road.

“This is a serious problem and it affects us daily,” said Salem Al Kabi. “Leaving the garbage for seven days and sometimes more without anyone to come and collect it causes real issues.

“Imagine what would happen if you left your household garbage for a week untouched. So what about more than 20 houses throwing trash in one place each day without being collected.”

The 43-year-old asked that the municipality rearranged its waste collection dates and placed more bins around the community.

“When you pass by the waste area you can see flies everywhere. This is a huge problem and the smell is very bad,” said 38-year-old Umm Ali. “We don’t want this to affect the health of our children, who play outside all the time, and it doesn’t give a good image of the neighbourhood and the people living here.”

Al Hara is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Murbah, south of the Sharjah enclave of Khor Fakkan about 20 kilometres from Fujairah city. With its long stretch of beach set against the Hajjar mountains, the town is popular with visitors, particularly at weekends.

The sight of construction materials discarded near building sites or roads worries Saeed Al Danhani, who said companies should face tough fines for leaving waste behind.

“There should be a penalty for leaving construction debris on the streets beside the construction areas and this is the best way to control this problem,” said Mr Al Danhani, 31.

“The things that they throw away are dangerous and should be ... disposed of properly.”

Khalifa Mohammed said many of Al Hara’s original residents had moved to new homes on the west side of Merbeh and rented their old villas out to groups of workers.

“Many Emirati residents left the area ... the rest are just waiting their turn to move. Companies rent the villas and transform them into labour accommodations. But this is not a reason to neglect the area,” he said

An Asian worker said that he and his co-workers had been living in a villa in Al Hara for almost three years.

“The place is very dirty and smells bad. Some people say it’s our fault but we don’t throw garbage in the street, we place it in the big trash container, but sometimes when the trash containers are full we put the garbage bags beside it. We try to keep the place clean.”

Officials at Fujairah municipality were unavailable to comment despite phone calls and visits to its offices.