Dubai Municipality managed to collect nearly one million plastic bottles in five days as part of an initiative involving the community.

The drinking water bottles, collected by the Waste Management Department of the municipality from the public, amounted to about 2,000 kilograms of waste.

The move was part of the “Giant Bag” initiative implemented at LuLu Hypermarket in Al Barsha from November 21 to 25. The initiative was aimed at spreading and establishing a waste sorting culture and enhancing environmental awareness and behaviour.

A large number of shoppers at LuLu Hypermarket brought plastic bottles throughout the five days of the event, which also witnessed a great deal of interaction between the families, who were competing each other to fill the Giant Bag, which was seven metres high and three metres wide and was manufactured from recyclable materials in cooperation with Paper Chase International.

The initiative comes within the framework of the strategic directions of Dubai Municipality to interact with the community in its various activities and programmes and to employ them to contribute to environmental efforts in conjunction with the launch of the 24th Clean up the World campaign, which was organised under the slogan, “Our place … Our planet … Our responsibility.”

Dubai Municipality strives to achieve the objectives of Dubai’s environmental culture and enhance its position among the cities of the world as a sustainable city, said Abdul Majeed Abdul Aziz Al Saifaie, director of the Waste Management Department.

“Our aim is to establish a culture of sorting waste from the source, classifying it according to the value and raising the level of environmental awareness among the public, especially those who frequent the malls and markets,” he said.

It is also aimed at activating community participation because this culture carries meanings that transcend the individual, which promotes community responsibility towards this city and its environment, added Al Saifaie. (GULF NEWS)

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