Recycling scheme helps UAE papers go green

DUBAI // Newspaper readers will be given incentives to recycle old news in a scheme that promises to help the environment and significantly reduce publishers' costs. The Green Paper project, devised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development (MBRCLD), will be led by publishers in collaboration with waste companies and the Government. It aims to promote environmentally friendly behaviour and make the publishing process less energy intensive. Under the scheme, newspaper subscribers will be given bags in which to place their daily papers which will be collected once a fortnight. They will be able to trade the papers for coupons to spend in shops and entertainment venues. The Green Team, a division of MBRCLD which is coordinating the scheme, says it could reduce the electricity costs of printing newspapers by up to 60 per cent and significantly cut water use. Faisal bin Haider, leader of the Green Team, said that it could establish a model to be applied across the country and the wider region. "The scheme is a model that can later be applied to other materials. The concept is to create an incentive for both the publisher and the reader to recycle papers. A key objective is to develop a culture of recycling, such as exists in Europe." The Arabic daily newsapaper Al Bayan has already signed up for the scheme, as has the waste collection company Dulsco. Dubai Municipality is implementing regulations to record both the volume of waste paper collected in the emirate and the percentage that is recycled. tbrooks@thenational.ae