Dubai
Global warming, pollution and depletion of natural resources is on the rise, which is a cause for grave concern. Recycling is one of the best ways to have a positive impact on the world. It helps to minimise pollution, preserve our natural resources, reduce landfill waste, conserve materials and save energy.
We need to adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle for environmental protection and conservation. Simply stated, it is our choice as to what world we want to create for ourselves. In line with this thought, I thought of executing a contemporary green planet initiative in the form of a neighbourhood recycling campaign. The campaign helped to gather 40 mobile phones, 200 kilograms of paper and 5kg of aluminium cans from friends, family and neighbours in just about two weeks! I handed over my collections to the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) – an organisation I am proud to be associated with.
The awareness generation techniques involved creating and mailing a powerpoint slide to the community members to announce the recycling programme. This was followed by door to door campaigning to highlight the hazards of dumping mobiles, plastics and aluminium cans. Regular follow-ups were done to motivate the community to recycle and adopt environment-friendly ways to protect the planet.
The critical challenges faced during the campaigns included convincing people to part with used mobiles as well as ignorance regarding environmental issues, especially the toxic dangers of dumping cell phones. A simple search on the internet can help you find all the necessary information. I sent relevant articles to highlight the importance of environmental protection. Regular communication and effective dissemination of information was greatly helpful in increasing awareness and motivating the community.
As I interacted with my neighbours, these practices automatically became a part of my daily life convictions. I continue to motivate my friends towards similar initiatives. Though this initiative was a small beginning, it was a very memorable, satisfying and enriching experience to generate awareness amongst the community.
I feel we all need to protect the environment through means of education and community involvement to leave a green mark. We should reduce, reuse and recycle at every stage. Save paper and reduce plastic usage, lessen food wastage, reduce pollution and keep surroundings clean as well as conserve water. We all need to do our bit and work together to make a difference.
– The reader is a pupil based in Bur Dubai.
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