Families would get free mobile minutes and shopping vouchers for sorting their own household waste under a new plan to boost recycling rates in Ras Al Khaimah.
The emirate is looking to boost recycling rates to 20 per cent with a planned incentives scheme.
The authorities want residents to bring separated packaging and particularly food waste to cut the amount of rubbish going to landfill.
It’s the little ones who teach parents the importance of waste segregation
Sonia Nasser, RAK Waste Management Agency
“We are working on an incentive programme that will offer people free minutes of talk time or mobile data if they segregate their waste sensibly,” said Sonia Nasser, executive director of RAK Waste Management Agency.
Recycling food waste, which currently comprises a third of the emirate’s rubbish, will reduce the country’s carbon footprint.
“We have three food treatment hubs and two more are expected to be added by the end of the year,” she said.
The agency is stepping up its fight against waste by encouraging children to join the campaign and work as its young ambassadors, in the hope they can get adults on board.
“We are working with schools to incorporate lessons on recycling in their curriculum. It’s the little ones who teach parents the importance of waste segregation,” she said.
“We have 121 schools under our recycling programme and we recently opened an outreach centre at the material recovery facility where kids can learn more about waste segregation process and why it’s important.”
The emirate’s material recovery facility, which sorts out recyclable items such as plastics, paper, glass and other materials, was established in 2003.
It was recently upgraded from a 100 per cent manual sorting out facility to a semi-automatic plant, helping to increase the recovery rate from five per cent to 15 per cent.
“The process was done manually by our employees but after upgrading the facility and adding segregation machines we hope to reach the 20 per cent mark,” she said.
At present, RAK has two recycling drop off centres and each produces one tonne of waste daily.
The facility has been operational since the early 2000s after the Ruler, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, saw more efficient waste management systems in California.
“In California, it took them 10 years to teach how to segregate waste. We’re quick on our feet,” said Ms Naseer.
The current facility in RAK handles around 400 tonnes of waste a day and there are plans to open another facility in Al Jazeera Al Hamra to cater to the increasing population.
In an effort to cut carbon emission, the city also uses 50 tonnes of camel manure that is used as fuel in cement production with the aim to meet the federal target of reducing landfill waste to 75 per cent by 2021.
Recycling rates are low cross the Emirates and the wider Middle East.
Abu Dhabi sends about 80 per cent of waste to landfill, officials figures show, though it plans to cut that to just 15 per cent by 2030. Fifteen on-street recycling stations have popped up in the city in the past year to encourage residents to help streamline the separation process.
Sharjah has made significant progress in recent years and now sends just 25 per cent of rubbish to landfill. It invested in curbside collections in 2012, before the other emirates, after facing a major waste-disposal crisis a decade ago.
Updated: January 14, 2020 07:00 PM
