Readers ready to be part of recycling initiative

Abu Dhabi: Saving the earth right from their doorsteps appealed to Gulf News readers, who expressed their support for the new door-to-door recycling programme being inaugurated in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western region.

Rujoom Qamar, a Pakistani national living in Abu Dhabi, feels that it is a good way for people to start recycling.

She said: "Instead of people going to special bins, the recycling service would come to them. People would not have any excuse to avoid recycling now."

As recycling will soon become mandatory for Abu Dhabi residents, Qamar, a university student, said that the practice would be initially looked upon as a duty by residents and later become a habit.

Penalties in the future would help reinforce the habit, too.

However, according to Maridette de Jesus, an Al Ain resident, such initiatives would not succeed if people are not aware of it.

De Jesus, a Filipina health care supervisor, suggests having seminars and workshops, amongst other awareness campaigns, as they are an effective way to educate people about the initiative. De Jesus reuses empty glass and plastic bottles for other purposes.

Change in attitude

She believes that the initiative in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain will bring about a similar change in mentality regarding recycling, among residents.

Ezzat Moghazy, an Egyptian physiotherapist, loves the new programme and feels that because recycling is not limited to one area, it should happen throughout the UAE.

As people in the UAE are fairly educated about such matters, Moghazy thinks residents would welcome such programmes, especially when they are not expected to exert too much effort.