Dubai: Dozens of recycling champions, including students, schools and private companies, were awarded by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Wednesday.
Under the patronage of Sheikh Salem bin Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the EEG celebrated the 27th Annual Emirates Recycling Awards at Dubai Knowledge Park.
EEG co-founder and chairperson Habiba Al Mar’ashi highlighted the significance of this year’s World Environment Day theme, “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration,” focusing on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.
“This theme underscores the urgent need to restore our degraded lands, combat desertification and enhance our resilience to drought, ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for all,” said Al Mar’ashi.
She also emphasised the UAE’s commitment to sustainability, noting the designation of 2024 as the Year of Sustainability and the strategic direction to ban single-use packaging materials. She urged all attendees to minimise the use of single-use items and actively work towards improving the health of our planet.
Massive collections
During the ceremony, Al Marashi announced that over the past year, EEG successfully collected 1,624,222kg of waste through various collection and recycling campaigns. This includes 28,906kg of aluminum cans, 1,245,769kg of paper, 154,064kg of plastic, 151,258kg of glass, 23,734kg of electronic waste, and 7,495kg of scrap metal. Additionally, the group collected 7,150 pieces of toner cartridges and 5,846 pieces of mobile phones.
The event also featured the Art from Waste exhibition sponsored by Accenture Middle East, showcasing extraordinary art pieces crafted from recyclable materials by students. The exhibition, upscaled into a standalone competition, honored the most innovative and creative projects.
The winners
Winners of paper collection campaign: Latifa School for Girls (academic institution), Nia Treeza Tony (individual/family), FedEx Express International B.V. (company/institution)
Winners of plastic collection campaign: Our Own High School - Dubai (academic institution), Maryam Humaidan (individual/family), Abela and Co (company/institution)
Winners of aluminium cans collection campaign: Our Own High School - Dubai (academic institution), Aarika Ajesh (individual/family), Emirates Flight Catering (company/institution)
Winners of glass collection campaign: Sheikha Hissa Bint Saqr Private School (academic institution), Shamsa Nasir Al Zaabi (individual/family), Five Holdings (company/institution)
Winners of mobile phones collection campaign: Our Own High School - Dubai (an academic institution), Rose Vincent (individual/family), the Public Prosecution Office - Dubai (company/institution)
Winners of printer toner collection campaign: Pavan Jolly Pratheesh (individual / family), Joyalukkas Jewellery (company / institution)
Winners of e-waste collection campaign: Delhi Private School Dubai (academic institution), Nia Treeza Tony (individual / family), Two Seasons Hotel & Apartments (company / institution).
DPS Dubai was also the overall UAE winner in the 24th Cycle of the annual Inter-school Environmental Public Speaking Competition, organised by EEG. The school’s winning team, comprising Aditya Menon, Aarya Shedge, Habiburahman, Atiya Sajith and Amogh Acharya, triumphed against 94 teams and 610 student participants from across the country
Winners of scrap metals collection campaign: Ali Darwish Mubarak Salim Al Zaabi (individual/family), Marco Polo Hotel (company/institution).
