Dubai residents told to shop smartly, reduce waste

Dubai: Dubai residents have been urged to shop smartly and reduce waste in an awareness drive launched in Ramadan.

Dubai Municipality’s Waste Management Department, which is currently running the “Shop smartly and reduce your waste” campaign, has also distributed thousands of free cloth bags among shoppers, the civic body said in a press release.

The campaign aims to educate shoppers about the importance of reducing wastage of their purchases by following a number of sustainable environmental means and ideas in shopping centres and markets during Ramadan,

Abdul Majeed Abdul Aziz Al Saifaie, director of Waste Management Department and head of the Sustainable Waste Management Awareness Team at Dubai Municipality, said smart shopping means less waste.

“As part of the campaign, we have organised awareness exhibitions, with smart electronic boards displaying messages and ideas for smart shopping, in Naif Souq and Dubai Municipality centres in Al Twar and Al Kafaf and some local departments such as the Land Department. Visitors to these places are being made aware of the importance of smart shopping following a number of sustainable ideas and practices in order to reduce waste. We have also distributed around 1,600 cloth bags for shopping,” he said.

“We also coordinated with DULSCO, which serves Jumeirah 1, 2 and 3 areas and Al Safa 1 and 2 areas within the “My City, My Environment” project, to separate waste from the source. They joined us by distributing 1,000 cloth bags for sustainable shopping in several branches of Choithrams and Spinneys shopping centres to educate shoppers about the harmful effects of plastic bags and encourage them to use reusable bags,” said Al Saifaie.

“We continue to educate a wide segment of the society about the importance of being partners in minimising waste through smart shopping and purchasing low-waste home appliances from the shopping centres, malls and establishments by following a number of green practices and ideas that will lead to a positive environmental impact, which contribute to achieving the national index of transferring 75 per cent of the waste produced in the emirate of Dubai from the landfill,” he said.

The official said the plan of this initiative also includes a number of additional events even after the end of the holy month, such as the continuation of organising awareness exhibitions in the major commercial markets in cooperation with the strategic partners of the municipality.

“Volunteers from the public were also given the opportunity to participate with us in awareness raising activities. We seek to commit everyone in the community to take responsibility for waste reduction to achieve the goals of sustainable development,” he added.

The Waste Management Department intensifies awareness efforts during the month of Ramadan. It had recently launched the “Recover the Value of Your Waste” initiative as part of its public awareness programme, which rewards shoppers and allows them to exchange recyclable items with food coupons.