Sharjah
People usually dump all the accumulated garbage waste generated in their household in the common waste bins. But do we have any idea as to where all this waste is going? It is necessary that we adopt a policy of segregating waste to maintain the ecological balance in our ecosystem and to substantiate the welfare of our future generations.
I took the initiative of placing waste segregation cartons outside the garbage chute on various floors of my building with a simple message: “Do your part to save Mother Earth. Conserve the resources for the future generations by reducing, reusing and recycling.” I promote the collection of paper, glass, toners, plastic, mobile phones, beverage cartons, aluminum cans and batteries.
This action has made people more aware of the importance of segregating waste. Now instead of throwing the recyclable items in the general waste bin they are putting them in these cartons. I get immense satisfaction to note that all this material will be recycled instead of ending up at some landfill. After a certain amount of waste is accumulated, I then deposit these recyclable materials at the offices of leading environmental waste management companies including the Dubai-based Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) and Sharjah-based Bee’ah.
The environment has been and will always be the most crucial gift that mankind has been blessed with. It is the cardinal and fundamental resource required to sustain life. Therefore we should make it an obligation to preserve and protect this life sustaining resource from depletion.
Awareness campaigns have a positive impact on the lifestyle of an individual and plays a crucial role in diverting the amount of waste headed to landfills. Recycling saves energy and helps in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions.
The residents in my community are now getting accustomed with the practice of waste segregation and are adopting this policy in their daily lives.
I believe that waste management companies should formulate an alternative solution to this predicament by imposing fines on those who produce more waste and don’t segregate. It should be made mandatory to not accept mixed waste. I have noticed that colour-coded waste bins have been installed in majority of the residential areas and even in big buildings to make the segregation effortless. I encourage my fellow readers to adopt this policy of segregation to lead a green lifestyle and play their part to bring change towards a sustainable and green future.
— The reader is a student based in Sharjah.
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