A can do attitude

It was a searing hot day when the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) held its can collection drive nationwide recently. Undeterred EEG volunteers received hundreds of bags of aluminium cans at points in the UAE that schools, universities and local companies had collected this year.

More than 110 of these bodies took part in this annual event now in its 11th year. When Notes caught up with EEG volunteers at Zabeel Park, they were furiously weighing bags of aluminium cans, recording the figure and dumping them in a massive skip.

Schools and university buses came by throughout the day bringing their bags in the hopes that they had collected the most as prizes were to be won later.

Student community service

One of the more dedicated student volunteers was 16-year-old Shaleen Sukthankar who is in her 12th year at Emirates International School in Jumeirah.

"In school we were required to do community service hours – most students go out and do it for a short period of time just to fulfil the requirements. But I thought it would be better if I did something that lasted to show our commitment," she said.

With this in mind, Sukthankar started the Teen Environmental Awareness Management (TEAM) club under which she and nine other students have undertaken various community projects.

The activities included food drives for destitute women in the UAE, safety drives for construction workers and safety officers and also environmental activities such as participating in the EEG can collection drive.

Sukthankar said that TEAM was able to find ways to do community work in which fellow students could assist. The response has been positive so far, she said.

Can collection fervour

Pupils and teachers from Crescent English High School have also been among the more concerted can collectors, having accumulated 10,200 cans since January.

"The students have been collecting cans wherever they see them; in their houses, parks, gardens, school. We also encouraged students not to throw their cans in the trash, but rather put them in the recycling bins," said teacher Miranda Nithyashree.

Nithyashree said the school heeded EEG's call for support as they wanted students to learn how to keep the environment clean and the can collection drive was an excellent way to motivate them.

The entire school participated, but the best student collected more than 5,000 cans.

Souad Nanaa, sales manager with catering organisation Abela and Company and a corporate member of EEG, headed a team of 37 employee volunteers who devoted their day to the drive.

For its 40th anniversary last year the company decided to reach out to communities undertaking tasks such as assisting centres for special needs, beach clean-ups and environmental awareness campaigns, she said.

Collection outcome

At the end of the day the EEG was thrilled to find that they had far exceeded their target weight of 10,000kg for the drive with 12,000kg being collected.

Organisers said the event heralded the growing proactive support and mass mobilisation of individuals across all sectors to help overcome the critical issue of domestic waste.

EEG chairperson Habiba Al Marashi said: "If the can collection drive can help to show the path forward by helping to recycle aluminium, EEG's objective behind the activity will be realised.

The large quantity collected from the drive alone will divert a substantial quantity of waste away from landfill sites and simultaneously stop potentially hazardous items from causing pollution, leaching, and contamination," Al Marashi said.

The can collection campaign, launched by EEG in 1997, is among the first successful community waste segregation activities to be initiated in the country.

- For more information on the EEG's activities contact them at eeg@emirates.net.ae.

Cans collected
The following figures show how sites across the seven emirates fared at Emirates Environmental Group's can collection drive:

- Dubai: 3,334kg
- Sharjah: 2,350kg
- Ajman: 35kg
- Ras Al Khaimah: 317kg
- Abu Dhabi: 695kg
- Um Al Quwain: 43kg
- Fujairah: 376kg
- Al Ain: 100kg
- Total: 7,250kg

A grand total of 12,000kg was collected taking into account cans collected since the beginning of the year.