Dubai, October 22: The ‘Clean-up the World 2009’ initiative of the Dubai Municipality will take place next week to help reduce waste and raise public awareness, said a top municipal official.
Hassan Mohammed Makki, Director of the Waste Management Department at the municipality, said 22,000 volunteers will take part in a four-day clean-up campaign forming Dubai’s largest voluntary environmental initiative.
The drive, in its 16th consecutive year, will also include several awareness initiatives aiming to encourage the public to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. “The Dubai Municipality has put in half a million dirhams to improve public cleanliness, raise awareness, reduce waste and encourage recycling,” said Makki.
“Last year 4,150 tonnes of waste including debris and abandoned vehicles were removed from various areas. This year, the municipality is trying to facilitate an even greater level of participation,” he added.
Yaqoob Al Ali, Chief Campaign Coordinator, said apart from the Dubai Municipality, several government departments, NGOs, private sector firms and voluntary organisations are also participating in this year’s campaign.
“The campaign will take place in schools, mosques and familiar areas to help reduce the waste level in Dubai,” said Al Ali.
On the opening day of the campaign on October 27, clean-up activities will begin at the Fishermen’s Village at 10am along with collection of print publications from mosques. Environment-themed stage presentations by school students and painting competitions will also be held, said Al Ali.
On the second day, Al Mamzar area will be cleared of wastes by volunteers from government educational institutions. On the third day, volunteers from private schools, colleges and universities will participate in the clean-up activities in Al Sufouh area. On the last day of the campaign on Friday, thousands of volunteers from the general public and private companies will clean up Nad Al Sheba, the racecourse located south of Dubai Creek that hosted the Dubai World Cup annually till this year.
Paul Murphy, Director of Events, Grand Hyatt Dubai, said the Hotel Green Team, a voluntary initiative, will join the campaign on October 30.
“They will be taking instructions from the local authority designated to clean up various parts of Jumeirah,” said Murphy.
“Just as last year, roughly 60-70 staff members are participating in the event,” he added.
Mazhar Ayub, general manager, TCS Express Worldwide, said the clean-up initiative by the municipality has encouraged many international companies to get on board.
“One hundred of our employees have been assigned to the campaign,” said Ayub. “We have been a part of Clean-up the World since 1994 and we congratulate Dubai for this humanitarian campaign.”
–Agencies