46
Leisure UAE makes
8 billion kilograms of waste each year
60% is
recyclable
Sharjah tackles waste
The people of Sharjah have their waste collected and recycled by Bee’ah. Chief commercial officer, Najib Faris, explains how the company is set to be the biggest in the Middle East. Lorraine Bangera reports
T
he population of the UAE is grows by 3.1% every year, and waste grows with that,” Najib Faris, chief commercial officer of Bee’ah, told the Future Cities Conference in Dubai last month. Established in 2009, Bee’ah aims to achieve zero waste going to landfill by 2015. It has won best waste management company in the FM Awards in Dubai for three years in a row. Bee’ah is unique among waste management companies because it carries out all waste management tasks from collecting waste, transporting, and cleaning it, through to recycling it. Its practices include the material recovery facility, which is the largest in the Middle East and third largest in the world, its tyre recycling facility, which is the only
November 2013
facility utilising a cryogenic system, a construction and demolition waste recycling facility (CDW) as well as its landfill, which it claims is the most efficiently managed landfill in the region.
Bee’ah street cleaner in action
Recycling Last month, Bee’ah launched its monthlong residential engagement campaign
‘Recycle for a Greener Sharjah’. And people responded well, says the company: following its 2012 awareness campaign residential recycling levels rose from 40 to over 52%. This year, Bee’ah placed 25 new Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) across the city for plastic bottles, aluminium cans and used light bulbs at various outlets including the Sharjah Cooperative Society. The machines are linked to ‘My Bee’ah Loyalty Programme’, which gives residents points in exchange for recycled material. Points collected can be redeemed for gifts, special offers and discounts. Faris said: “My Bee’ah incentivises people to be sustainable. It is like an environmental loyalty programme. All you have to do is drop recyclable material in the machines, swipe your card, and earn your points.” Educating the young Bee’ah also has a programme to educate Sharjah’s youngsters. Faris said: “The Bee’ah School of Environment is an online and offline awareness programme that targets students in Sharjah. Students from kindergarten to grade 12 receive curriculum-based education every week for one hour. Some of us can get a degree in that time. “As the programme is available online, students can access material and learn about the environment conveniently. It also educates teachers and provides curriculum material to help teach their classes.” The programme is supported by the Ministry of Education and the Sharjah Education Zone. It has already reached and educated 164,000 students in over 200 schools across Sharjah.