RAK celebrates Earth Day with green bags and recycling centres
Ever wondered what to do with those old plates or cutlery you no longer want, but cannot be bothered to sell?
If you live in Ras Al Khaimah, there is now an answer. The Ras Al Khaimah Waste Management Agency launched six recycling locations yesterday to help divert more of its waste away from landfill. And some include drop-off centres for household items people no longer need.
Just 14 per cent of RAK’s waste is currently recycled – a proportion it aims to increase to 30 per cent this year, and to 75 per cent by 2021.
The expansion is timely, with today being Earth Day. The global environmental movement attracts more than one billion people who adopt consumer campaigns and public policy and educational programmes to promote green initiatives.
A key theme this year is to reduce the use of plastic around the world.
RAK aims to reach its ambitious target by distributing recycling bags to all residents before the end of June – which will include green bags for the collection of recyclables such as plastics, paper, cardboard, cans and glass bottles, and brown bags for food waste.
“The [recycling drop-off centres] are for people who maybe have too many recyclables, or if you just have extra stuff like batteries, electronics or lightbulbs that don’t go into the regular bags that we have provided for residents,” said Sonia Nasser, executive director of the Ras Al Khaimah Waste Management Agency.
The emirate is also encouraging people to use the six new locations to dispose of the additional items they cannot put in their green and brown bags.
Two of the recycling drop-off centres for household items make use of repurposed shipping containers and can be found in the parking lots at RAK Mall and Saqr Park.
Residents can also drop off items that still have some life in them, such as dishes they no longer want.
“Maybe you have something you want to throw away but you can’t figure out if it’s still valuable to someone else. So we are leaving a place for people to drop off household products and then someone else can take them if they need them,” Ms Nasser said.
The remaining locations are food waste treatment centres at Al Hamra Mall, the RAK Vegetable Market and the Mairid Fish Market, while there will be an outreach centre and food bank on the Corniche.
Experts say food waste that ends up in landfills is a major contributor to climate change because of leachate generation (liquid that drains from a landfill), greenhouse gas emissions and space consumption – it is very bulky.
“Of all the things you throw out, the food waste is the heaviest. It’s a weight game,” Ms Nasser said.
“We are hoping to remind people to shop wisely and not to throw away so much food. And so we are thinking if we can go after the organics, the food waste, that will help our diversion numbers as well.
“And [we want to show that] fruit, vegetables, fish or meat can then be a soil amendment.”
Food waste treatment centres will help to prevent leachate run-off and gas emissions from landfill sites