Watch: Residents of Green Community in UAE help gated cluster live up to its name

Dubai: Residents of The Green Community - Motor City in Dubai have taken it upon themselves to collect all recyclable materials from their homes and hand it over to the Dubai Municipality for recycling.

Everybody in the community, including children, have been involved in the collection, helping recycle more than a tonne of waste. Indian expat Suhas Pandit, a resident of the community, said: “The residents including children living in the area are involved in the best possible way to keep their surrounding environment friendly. The Green Community- Motor City is a lush green oasis for residents. However, the community trash was not being recycled in the area. And so we residents decided to become more involved in the process.”

Pandit added: “In fact, young children in the community became the torch bearers of this initiative under adult supervision and guidance to spread the message of a clean environment to all residents. The community led recycling initiative has spread across the entire gated complex.”

How it all began

Pandit said it all started with a request from one resident to start an initiative within the community to segregate waste and ensure it is not all dumped in one bin. “With a well-established social network, other residents eagerly volunteered. A team was set up and people took up various roles and responsibilities. The children were our ‘Green Warriors’ who were all well trained by their schools to respect their environment and work closely with the nation’s motto of Sustainability, a theme of Expo 2020 Dubai.”

How the works

The recycling initiative was primarily led by four residents of the community Deepti Kaushal, Radhika Bhandari, Gaurav Singha and Hadeel Al Sawa. The Dubai Municipality is collecting the materials from residents so it can be recycled.

“Muaz Mohammed Babaker, an inspector in the waste management department at Dubai Municipality rendered his unwavering support. Thanks to his able assistance, arrangements were made instantly with local service providers during June to provide recycling bins at two common locations between four buildings.”

The Green Warriors meanwhile launched multiple awareness campaigns on a dedicated Instagram account. “They made several hand-made signboards with recyclable materials and distributed flyers using recycled papers to educate residents about the initiative and set an example for UAE residents,” said Bhandari, who is from Singapore.

Training on segregation

In July, a detailed training session was held on segregating different kinds of waste and collecting recyclable materials. “Despite the scorching summer heat and with most of the residents travelling, we managed to collect around 500kg of waste. It was incredibly encouraging and promising. We are grateful to be living in UAE where sustainable living is not just a buzzword, but a culture,” said Kaushal, an Indian national.

Bhandari said: “Being a long-time resident of the Terraced Apartments together with my experience in similar projects, I am thrilled to be part of this initiative in our community. This is our small contribution towards sustainability for our community. In just two months we have grown from approximately 400kg to 1,100kg in our collection of recyclable materials, with more residents being committed to the project. We hope this grows and inspires other communities and their residents too.”

Caring for nature

Kaushal added: “It all feels right and the only way to reciprocate the abundance provided by our planet is to respect and treasure our environment via sustainability. We are blessed to be residents of The Green Community - Motorcity and are always willing to make a difference in every way possible.”

Mariam Alogaily, 15, a British expat, said: “Recycling is an essential step to becoming an eco-friendly society. As time goes on it becomes more imperative that we right our wrongs towards the environment. I’m grateful for the chance to do that and I can vouch that our residents are too."

She added: "Just last month we collected 500kg of recyclables and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. The residents of The Green Community - Motor City look forward to contributing towards Expo 2020 Dubai in our own way and are extremely humbled by all the support extended.”