Dubai: It's time to help clean up the world, and the team at Dubai Municipality's waste management department says it is ready for the annual flurry of activity.

This year's Clean Up the World campaign will be held in October, and it will be the 17th year UAE volunteers have taken part in the country's largest clean-up drive.

Hassan Makki, Director of Waste Management Department and the Head of the Clean Up the World Team, said: "We have decided that the campaign slogan for this year will be ‘Communities Care for Nature'.

Makki said in light of worsening environmental problems which posed a threat to public health and safety, the waste management department considered the clean-up drive to be integral to its purpose.

The clean-up was also important in helping the department raise awareness about vital environmental issues among members of the public across Dubai.

Makki said the UAE's Clean Up the World effort was part of the annual worldwide "Clean-up" campaign which started in Australia.

Private companies

More than 6,000 pupils from public and private schools across Dubai, and more than 8,000 volunteers from government departments and private companies took part in the Dubai clean-up campaign last year.

Hussain Gulam Hussain, Head of Administrative Support and Customers Section and general clean-up co-ordinator, said the Clean Up The World push had in recent years taught young people about the importance of maintaining a clean environment.

It also offered them an opportunity to develop leadership skills for further volunteering in the environmental field.