You don’t need to be a tree hugger to feel a slight guilt each time you chuck a styrofoam container, cardboard box or plastic bottle in the bin. Dubai’s convenience of ordering your dinner right to your door before you even get home means you’re likely to pile up on the environmentally unfriendly materials.
According to recent findings by Dubai Carbon, the average UAE resident produces close to 2.7 kilograms of waste per day. It gets worse every year during the month of Ramadan, escalating to around 5.4kg. To put things into perspective, the average European generates only 1.2kg of waste a day.
The city still loves planet earth and wants to promote sustainability because Dubai Municipality has set up a number of recycling points across the city. Likewise, its My City, My Environment recycling programme, a door-to-door collection service, has supplied recycling bins to Safa 1 and 2 and Jumeirah 1, 2 and 3 residents. The municipality plans are to add an extra 10 neighbourhoods to the green list every year.
Green tips, AKA stop binning and wasting
Bag for life – Invest in a build to last bag for your groceries. Plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to fully decompose. Also, you’ve seen the damage they do to deep sea creatures when they get tangled in them.
Water bottle – The UAE has the highest per capita consumption of bottled water, using 265 litres per year. Plastic bottles take 450 years to decompose and drinking from them after they’ve been exposed to sunlight can leave cancerous chemicals floating in your water. Invest in a water filter and store your water in glass bottles; you’ll notice the difference in taste right away.
Tupperware – Stop using cling film and sandwich bags and opt in favour of tupperware, which is kinder to your wallet and the environment.
Hot water heater – Switch it off whenever it’s sunny outside, which is approximately 99% of the time. The scorching emirate sun will give you a supply of God-given hot water to shower the whole family many times over.
Support the Year of Giving – Have a pile of clothes that have gone out of Dubai fashion style? Donate them to refugees or to those less fortunate.
Where to dump your junk
Here’s a list of the most easily accessible recycling points in Dubai, which are expanding all the time.
Al Barsha Citymax Hotel – Plastic + Paper
Al Qusais Emirates Driving Institute – Plastic + Paper
Al Quoz Oasis Centre Mall – Plastic + Paper
Arabian Ranches Retail Centre – Plastic + Papers + Glass + Cans + Clothes
Bur Dubai Citibank, Burjuman Metro Station – Plastic + Paper + Cans
Dubai Festival City, Toys R Us – Plastic + Paper + Cans
Dubai Marina promenade – Plastic + Paper + Glass
Dubai Studio City Tower – Plastic + Paper + Glass
Emirates Hills Meadows Village – Plastic + Paper + Cans
Jumeirah Beach Residence, The Beach, The Walk – Plastic + Paper
Jumeirah Lake Clusters – Plastic +Paper + Glass + Cans
Nad Al Sheba – Plastic + Paper + Cans + Cardboard
The Greens Village Shops – Plastic + Papers + Glass + Cans
Rashidiya Shopping Centre – Plastic + Paper + Cans + Cardboard
Safa Park – Plastic + Paper + Cans + Cardboard
Silicon Oasis Spinneys – Plastic + Papers + Glass + Cans + Clothes
