Sharjah: The Residency and Naturalisation Department in Sharjah has launched a year-long campaign to crack down on illegal residents who collect rubbish. Authorities have arrested 59 people since January.
An official at Bee'ah, the Sharjah-based environmental company, said majority of those who collect rubbish are those without work permits and legal residency status.
Integrated effort
"We are also trying to reduce scavengers in Sharjah, through an integrated effort with Sharjah Police, Bee'ah and the Residency Department. Taking rubbish is illegal because once a person places something in the aluminium containers, because it belongs to the property of the municipality. And the same concept goes to taking flowers from the roundabouts," said Najib Faris, senior marketing and communication manager at Bee'ah.
He explained that it is the municipality's responsibility to treat waste in a supervised facility.
"Scavenging is not only done in the UAE but in all emerging markets. It also affects the public health because the scavengers allow contaminated products to spread through society," Faris, who pointed out that it is not only contaminated tissues that are thrown out on the streets but also hazardous waste.
"When people take out rubbish from the containers, they also spread the contamination when they put the rubbish on their bicycles," he said.
