Sharjah: Waste management company Bee’ah says it has provided more than 4,500 blue bins across offices in Sharjah for the collection of recyclable office waste such as paper, cardboard, plastics and cans.
It is also providing thousands of green bins for general waste that cannot be recycled and is destined for the landfill.
Also looking to alleviate parking congestion, Sharjah Municipality has re-engineered sections of pavement along the streets of Sharjah with parking slots to accommodate the new bins to avoid any traffic disruption.
The latest developments are part and parcel of sweeping changes to make Sharjah more waste-friendly in high-density residential areas by creating more hygienic conditions by eliminating traditional lidless garbage bins used in the past.
Bee’ah’s new residential programme is replacing the large metal bins with new plastic bins that encourage residents to segregate waste at source.
Residents have the option of placing general waste in green bins and recyclable materials into blue bins, said Khalid Al Huraimel, CEO of Bee’ah.
Aiming to improve the situation, Bee’ah will also provide larger capacity bins which will include covers which open via a foot pedal, to prevent any odour and keep the area clean, making it more hygienic for residents to use, added Al Huraimel.
“Blue bins feature a rubber serrated opening to make it difficult for illegal scavengers to go through recyclable waste,” he added.
Also as part of the move, a new collection of cleaning vehicles, which are better equipped to ensure higher efficiency and a better collection operation, have been ordered from Europe by Bee’ah.
“The latest bin washer vehicle provides the capability to wash the bins at least once a week, so as to prevent any smell from leftover waste,” said Al Huraimel.
Gulf News talked to Mustafa Sabaqat, who lives on Al Wahda Street, about the location of the older metal bins near his building.
“One of the big bins take up one and sometimes two parking spaces, and another is placed in the corner of a T-junction by my building,” he said, complaining that apart from the bad smell, the older bins are placed in inconvenient locations.
Another Sharjah resident, Noor Hamad, said she also faces the same problems in the Buhaira area where she lives.
“There are four bins, four on each side of the path leading to the car park, and the smell is very strong and quite disgusting, especially as I have to walk though the parking area many times a day,” she said.
She also said that as a result of the lidless bins there are lots of insects and flies around the cars which have led her to change her parking spot to a location further away.
Bee’ah is also encouraging residents to recycle their waste by joining the latest Bee’ah loyalty programme which offers members points for every plastic bottle and aluminium can deposited at reverse vending machines located in malls and co-ops in Sharjah and Dubai.
“We have 1,750 three stream recyclers located along the walkways of Sharjah, to separate plastics, cans and general waste,” said Najeeb Faris, Chief Commercial Officer at Bee’ah.
