Abu Dhabi: Tadweer, the Centre of Waste Management in Abu Dhabi, inaugurated the first recyclable collection station in the capital on Tuesday evening where residents can dispose of different kinds of waste materials in designated chutes.
First of its kind in the emirate, the recyclable collection centre will help residents to segregate wastes at home and dispose discarded items in different chutes. The centre plans to install about 16 such recyclable collection stations across the island of Abu Dhabi by the end of the year.
The collection station was installed beside the Khalidiya Park in the capital. Each recyclable collection station costs between Dh200,000 and Dh400,000.
The station in Khalidiya Park has 16 different waste chutes where residents can drop materials like plastic, paper, glass, bottles, mobiles electronics, cardboards, discarded food items and cans in different boxes. Collectors will keep emptying them so that residents can keep discarding items.
Till now, residents had no place to discard their used mobile phones, batteries and electronic items but this will give residents a permanent place to safely discard waste items that can be recycled and reused later.
Dr Thani Ahmad Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, inaugurated the first recyclable collection centre in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to Gulf News after the inauguration, Dr Salem Al Kaabi, acting general manager of Tadweer, said, “This is the first project in Abu Dhabi where residents can drop 16 different kinds of waste materials like plastic, paper, glass, bottles, mobiles, electronics, cardboards, discarded food items and cans.
“This station will provide residents a fixed place where they can drop the recyclable materials. Residents used to throw all wastes in garbage bins which take too much time to segregate at the recycling plants and degrade the value of the recycling materials but if they are already segregated at home and disposed in designated chutes, it will give better value for recyclables and save much time,” he said.
If the recyclable material is clean, it values more, while dirty items need much more time to clean and yields less value.
“By 2030, we aim to divert 70 per cent of waste from the landfills of Abu Dhabi to recycling plants. Two million tonnes of municipal waste are collected annually from the emirate of Abu Dhabi each year,” he said.
These stations will not only help the sorting stations at plants but also yield greater environmental benefits when most of discarded waste is recycled and reused, Al Kaabi said.
Tadweer will launch a massive awareness campaign about segregating waste among all segments of the community, through schools, colleges, malls and social medial networks and television channels, he said.
