Waste management officials in Dubai aim to cut domestic waste

Dubai is struggling to cope with the amount of domestic waste, resulting in waste management officials launching a drive to cut the city’s quantity of dumped rubbish and promote awareness of recycling.

The push hopes to see the amount of domestic waste cut by about 15 to 20 per cent a year.

Landfill experts are encouraging people to begin recycling, as they see this as the only way to tackle the problem.

Adbulmajeed Saifaie, director of the waste management department, aims to have almost zero waste output by 2030. The department want the people of Dubai to take responsibility of their own rubbish, understanding that it has to go somewhere once it has been removed from their home.

"Our biggest challenge is changing people's mentality and attitude towards it. People have to understand that a modern city cannot rely on landfills to manage its waste. This is just not feasible - financially or environmentally”

Many recycling initiatives have been sparked by the government, one of which being My City, My Environment – which has thus far has had the most success.

My City, My Environment is an attempt to promote awareness of the necessity of recycling. Homes are fitted with two bins – one for organic waste and one for recycling. The project requires very little effort on the half of the homeowner, as they simply have to differentiate their waste before it is collected and separated by the municipality.

Fears by waste management officials have been sparked following the closure of one of two landfill sites in Dubai. The site has been closed because it has reached maximum capacity, with the city continuing to dispose of their domestic waste.

Officials predict that the second landfill site, Al Qusais landfill, just off Emirates Road at the border between Dubai and Sharjah, will be closed in less than ten years because it too will have reached full capacity.

The landfill is currently growing by two to three metres a year.

Posted by Joseph Hutton