Bee’ah Hails Success For Recycling Initiative Launched In Ramadan

MyBee’ah, a community engagement initiative by Bee’ah – the Middle East’s leading and award-winning integrated environmental and waste management company – launched a Ramadan recycling initiative on August 1st, 2011 resulting in improved waste audits.

Results show that waste collection in Ramadan this year increased by 10% compared to the waste audit for Ramadan last year. An average of 8,140 tonnes per week was collected and transported to Bee’ah’s Waste Management Complex at Al Saj’ah for processing into recyclable paper, cardboard, plastics and aluminium while organic waste was sent for composting.

"We are extremely pleased with how the initiative has been received by residents and the results show how popular our campaign was. The new initiative educates residents on the importance of the environmental principle of the three Rs – Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and has helped to considerably reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill," commented Mr. Khaled Al Huraimel, Chief Executive Officer of Bee’ah, “which underlines that our residents really are committed to recycling, and we will be working hard to keep providing them with solutions to save their environment."

An increase of 17.41% of household waste is generated during Ramadan of which 24% is made up of plastic bottles and organic waste. Sharjah residents have expressed their need for informative guidelines from Bee’ah on how and where they can take their recyclable waste, as well as other interesting facts and tips on how they can help lead an example as environmental advocates within their community.

Bee’ah launched the awareness-raising campaign at the beginning of Ramadan to educate the public and encourage them to adopt environmentally sustainable lifestyles. The campaign’s purpose was to inform residents to reduce the amount of waste and recycled items which otherwise end up in landfills across the UAE. The project has been launched in 3 of Sharjah’s prominent and highest footfall locations, namely: Al Qasba, Sahara Centre and Mega Mall. Informational kiosks featuring special Ramadan calendars, highlight useful facts and tips on how people can reduce their consumption of food, water and energy, as well as the importance of recycling. The aim is to promote environmental advocacy and urge the public to share this message with their family, friends and neighbours. After all, Ramadan is about caring for others and this is the best time to care for the planet.

The uniquely created Ramadan calendar contains simple guidelines on how individuals can reduce their waste by choosing items with less packaging and turning off the TV when not in use; re-use paper bags or give an item to someone who needs it instead of throwing them away; as well as easy ways to bring in recyclables such as cardboard boxes, plastic bottles and aluminium cans to the Bee’ah Recycling Depot at Al Qasba.

Bee’ah, was recently awarded “Best Waste Management Company of the Year in the Middle East” by the Facilities Management Award for adopting international best practices, with various significant accomplishments to enhance the Emirate’s environment and achievements in added-value commercial ventures, while upholding its commitments to Sharjah’s community.

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Bee’ah Introduces First Public Recycling Center At Al Qasba

Bee’ah, the UAE’s leading integrated environmental and waste management company, launched the first public recycling centre in Sharjah at Al Qasba, coinciding with World Environment Day on Sunday 5th June, 2011.

“At Bee’ah, we always strive to empower the community of Sharjah to be responsible for saving our environment. By taking on an active role in caring for their city, individuals will feel accountable to making a difference and become leading examples within their community, encouraging others to also become avid recyclers.” commented Khaled Al Huraimel, Chief Executive Officer at Bee’ah.

Bee’ah’s Recycling Depot is the latest of many infrastructure tools launched by the company to encourage Sharjah’s residents and facilitate their disposal of recyclables. The Public Recycling Center (Depot) has been designed for mass-recycling and allows for waste to be divided up in three separate container sections (paper; cardboard; plastic and metal cans). The Recycling Depot is permanently positioned at Al Qasba, with more expected in other locations in the future throughout the city of Sharjah; and will serve as yet another recycling touch-point in the city for residents in Sharjah, who adopt recycling as a lifestyle.

Being committed to educating the community about leading an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, Bee’ah conducted several activities, including Eco-Hunting, Drawing for the Environment and Pledging, during World Environment Day at Al Qasba to teach children and their families on the importance and simple methods of recycling. In addition, the public was invited to drop off their recyclable household waste items for Bee’ah to collect and process for re-use in the economy.

Commenting on the event, Dina Al Nakhi, Events Manager, Al Qasba Development Authority, said: "We are very pleased with the great participation that the World Environment Day has witnessed. It is a clear indicator to the environmental awareness in our society and a pleasure of ours to host such an event in collaboration with Bee’ah, through which we both take on our social responsibility to a whole new level."

"We hope that this campaign, alongside other Bee’ah initiatives in the future, will lead to incorporate the efforts of all members of society – whether organizations, individuals or public and private sector representatives – to protect the beautiful environment of the UAE and the entire world. We would like to thank all the participants, who played a vital role in the success of this event." concluded Al Nakhi.

The Public Recycling Center (Depot) at Al Qasba, is a first-of-a-kind venture within the Middle East region, and has been an international recycling practice in many countries across the world for many years. It not only allows for recycling large quantities of recyclable waste by diverting them from the landfill, but is engineered to also eliminate foul odours. Sharjah’s residents are encouraged to take advantage of the Recycling Depot, in addition to the present Pedestrian Recyclers situated across Sharjah, to make their city and the world a cleaner and greener place to live in.

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Reports A 4-Fold Surge In Recycling Levels In Sharjah

Bee’ah, the UAE’s leading integrated environmental and waste management company, today announced a sharp rise in recycling levels in Sharjah for the first quarter of 2011.
Recent audits conducted at Bee’ah’s Waste Management Complex (WMC) in Al Saj’ah have revealed a 34% drop in waste delivered to the landfill in Q1 of 2011, as compared to the same period last year; a result of the combined efforts of each division and the successful implementation of various community awareness programmes across the emirate.
These include the sophisticated infrastructure and facilities at Al Saj’ah for systematic segregation and waste processing, implementation of widespread clean-up operations across Sharjah by Tandeef, installation of additional 3-stream pedestrian recyclers and the launch of the residential recycling programme to encourage Sharjah residents to incorporate the 3Rs (reduce, re-use and recycle) into their lifestyle. Additionally, the Bee’ah School of Environment, an initiative supported by the Sharjah Education Zone, has been an astounding success and aims to educate children about being environmentally conscious from a very early age.
“Taking into consideration that recycling is still new to the region, the figures are a testament to the fact that Bee’ah’s investment in expanding operations and improving systems is paying off,” said Khaled Al Huraimel, Chief Executive Officer of Bee’ah.
“I would also like to thank our partners in this success - the residents, local authorities and businesses across Sharjah, who have contributed significantly in increasing recycling across the emirate to create a cleaner environment.”
One of the highest contributors in increasing recycling levels has been plastic - including PET and mixed plastic, with a 700% increase from March 2010 to 2011, paper and cardboard second at 366%, followed by a 135% increase in aluminium recycling for the same period.
Directing attention to the achievements of each facility, Municipal Solid Waste diversion rates from the Al Saj’ah landfill increased from 14% in 2010 to 33.7% in 2011 - over 100 million kilograms of organic waste recycled at the Al Saj’ah Compost plant, 90% of construction and demolition waste recovered, and over 286,000 tyres recycled every month at the Tyre Recycling Facility. Moving forward, Bee’ah aims to increase the diversion rate from 33.7% to 40% by the end of 2012.
Bee’ah and the Sharjah Municipality - strategic partners since 2009, have successfully transformed the Al Saj’ah landfill at Bee’ah’s WMC into a safe disposal site that represents an entirely new approach to waste management in the region.
Al Huraimel concludes, “Bee’ah’s long-term strategy for growth is to position the company as a leader of environmental change not only in Sharjah, but beyond borders, as we make plans to expand into other emirates as well.”

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