Abu Dhabi: Opting for a mobile, eco-friendly car wash service is not only convenient, but it saves millions of litres of water annually.
UAE's eco-friendly mobile car wash company, Q2, said that by cleaning hundreds of thousands of cars across the country they had helped save huge quantity of water. Q2 general manager, Abdullah Al Shehi, said: "In Abu Dhabi's Al Wahda mall alone, we cleaned 164,904 vehicles over the last 18 months. This means, in comparison to traditional methods, we helped save at least 2.3 million litres of water".
"While our method uses about five litres of water, industrial methods on average use 228 litres. Washing at home has been found to be even more wasteful," he said. The service costs Dh20 to clean the exteriors for saloon cars and Dh25 for four-wheel drives. A low-pressure mix of water and no-foam detergent is used for cleaning and takes between 20 and 30 minutes.
The company was set up two years ago by a group of young Emirati entrepreneurs, with the support of the Khalifa Fund, a governmental body which helps people set up their own businesses. Al Shehi said that recently Q2 bagged a one-year contract to offer their services at the Abu Dhabi municipality's parking lot, which can accommodate up to 5,000 vehicles.
Contract renewed
The company's contract with Al Wahda Mall has also been renewed for another year.
"Water conservation is an important responsibility that we take seriously," Al Shehi said.
With a consumption rate of 550 litres of water per person per day, the UAE has one of the highest per capita rates of water use in the world.
Q2 is a franchisee of GeoWash, which was set up six years ago in Argentina and now operates in 35 countries. Q2 offers its services at 20 sites across the UAE.
Average amount of water used during car wash:
- Home wash — 370 litres
- In-bay car wash - 205 litres
- Conveyor wash - 280 litres
- Industrial wash - 228 litres
- Geo wash method used by Q2 - 5 litres
(Source - Q2)
Aquatic resource
- Measured per capita, Abu Dhabi has one of the highest rates of personal water consumption in the world, with residents consuming an average of up to 550 litres of water per person per day.
- This is equivalent to 367 large water bottles per day (based on a 1.5 litre bottle)
- This is almost three times the global benchmark of 180 litres per day set by the United Nations
- Each resident accounts for an average personal domestic water consumption of 200,750 litres
- Experts fear that Abu Dhabi could face water shortages as soon as 2012, based on current consumption rates and forecast population growth
Source: Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
What do you think of this venture? Would you use the service? What more can be done to help conserve water in the UAE?
