Almost 19,000 kg of recyclable waste has been collected from public drop-off centres in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) in five months as the community shows its full support for the emirate’s goal of creating a greener, more sustainable future.

A total of 18,600 kg of household rubbish, including plastics, paper, cardboard, cans and glass bottles, was collected from the centres at Saqr Park and at RAK Mall and diverted from landfills between May and September this year.

The centres, which can be easily accessed on foot and by car, were opened in May by the Ras Al Khaimah Waste Management Agency (RAKWMA) to give members of the community and small businesses a convenient location where they could dispose of their recyclable rubbish.

RAKWMA staff carry out regular collections of the rubbish left at each centre, often returning several times each month as more and more waste is deposited. All of the rubbish that is left at each location is recycled.

The centres, along with the RAK Government’s successful ‘RAK Recycles’ home recycling and waste sorting scheme, which was officially launched in September last year, support the emirate’s goal of achieving the 2021 UAE National Target of diverting 75per cent of all recyclable waste from landfill.

As part of the ‘RAK Recycles’ homes in Al Dhait, Rams, the Southern region of RAK, all RAK Properties developments and the Al Hamra areas of the emirate are given green bags to collect household recyclables, with brown bags provided for food waste.

Residents living in other areas of Ras Al Khaimah will receive their own recycling bags as the scheme is rolled out across the emirate. In the meantime, they are encouraged to use the two conveniently located drop off centres.

Between May and September, a total of 11,200kgs of waste was collected from the Saqr Park drop-off centre, with 4,760kgs being diverted from landfill in July alone.

RAKWMA staff collected 7,400kgs from the RAK Mall drop-in centre between May and August.

The community’s involvement in the recycling scheme can be measured by the increasing amount of rubbish that has been brought to each drop-off centre each month since they were officially opened in May.

As awareness of the two centres has spread, more and more recyclable rubbish is being collected and diverted from landfill.

Sonia Nasser, executive director of the Ras Al Khaimah Waste Management Agency, said: “It is wonderful to see how successful these two drop-off centres have been and just how enthusiastic the community of Ras Al Khaimah is about recycling.”

“This initiative helps to empower residents and small businesses by encouraging them to take the positive step of taking their own waste to recycling centres instead of it ending up in landfill. By dropping off their rubbish, they are actively engaging with RAKWMA’s recycling programmes.

 “These centres, along with the ‘RAK Recycles’ programme, are part of the Government of RAK’s drive to protect and preserve our natural environment and to encourage every resident to embrace a more eco-conscious way of life,” Nasser added. – TradeArabia News Service