First time in the world, the workers part of Dubai municipality could be wearing uniforms that are completely eco-friendly real soon. The uniforms will be made out of fully recycled plastic. This is an initiative as a part of the huge campaign to save the environment launched by Dubai Municipality.

In another set initiative that aims to carry through Net Zero by 2050, the civic body made an announcement saying that it has initiated a campaign to rescue 3 million units of packaging and recycle them into equivalent to a stunning 60 tons of PET or Polyethylene terephthalate plastic.

The authority of Dubai Municipality said that this process is all set to recognise the municipality as the first one in the world to make use of recycled materials to create worthy products for their employees itself.

 According to Dubai Municipality, the main motive for taking this thoughtful initiative is to strengthen the community’s responsibility in the major sector of the environment. This equally inspires both institutions and individuals to switch to the eco-friendly options available in the market. This also aims to cut down the usage of plastic as well as boost the programmes and methods that help to increase the diverse rate of plastic waste inputting traditional methods of disposal.

The municipality also points out that this process of recycling will elevate the process of recycling waste further run a satisfying circular index of the economy, and finally contribute to the overall sustainability system of cleanliness and maintaining the environment in Dubai while making alliances with national targets for a secure environment. 

Threads from PET bottles

The main target set by the Dubai Municipality is to prioritise the PET plastic during the eco-drive as this form of plastic is getting utilised widely such as while packaging drinking water, juices, soft drinks, and many other food products. In most cases, it is getting used because of its durable nature, inbuilt properties which are extremely lightweight, and transparency. This form is also selected because of the non-toxicity elements and plays a highly productive role in recycling processes.

Dubai Municipality is playing a partnership with ‘DGRADE’, a clothing wholesaling company, based in Dubai, the United Emirates. The clothing company will cooperate to turn PET plastic bottles into uniforms for the workers of sanitation. The uniforms will be made of threads that will be produced from 100 percent recycled PET bottles.

Making uniforms from recyclable plastic bottles is no doubt indeed a groundbreaking move to leave a global remark, which will demonstrate the commitment given by Dubai municipality to use recycled materials to build worthy products for the employees.

Reverse Vending Machines

The initiative to recycle plastic bottles will encourage not only the government sector but the private sector as well and will promote better waste management. This initiative will increase the quality and ratio of usable recycled materials. Additionally, the process will boost the whole concept of Circular economy, waste recycling process, and sustainability.

Dubai Municipality has initiated multiple measures to pursue these goals, including the dispensation of a collection of 100 smart plastic packages of containers to educational institutions at the government and private levels. And equally to the governmental and non-governmental and many sports agencies.

There are specially designed Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) to process the recovery of the plastic containers. The information was made public by one of the spokespersons from Dubai Municipality.

To support the campaign and involve themselves in this initiative people can dispose of all the used plastic containers through the Reverse Vending Machine to complete the further process.

Number of 17 collection centres

According to the statement shared by a spokesperson, to complete the sustaining process there are a number of 17 container collection centres that will collect the recyclable materials that have been specially designated and will be placed in popular and crowded areas and will be available for public use.

The collection centers will be facilitated with smart containers to complete the plastic collection process. Through the smart machine, there will be boxes placed inside to collect the plastic waste to fulfill the initiative and facilitate participation from the public from multiple locations.

To encourage maximum participation from the public at popular locations, the Dubai Municipality has set up 10 unique specialised smart plastic packaging containers and collection boxes for beachgoers.

The smart waste collecting containers are in bottle shape and distributed in some batches said the spokesperson.

The Dubai Municipality has equally installed a number of four plastic packaging devices to initiate the recovery process in some popular public destinations such as Dubai Frame, Dubai Safari Park, the Headquarters of Dubai Municipality, and the DM customer Center located in Al Manara.

Green circular economy

The director general of Dubai Municipality, Dawoud Al Hajri has emphasised that this social initiative of collecting plastic waste and recycling them into uniform highlights the unwavering commitment of Dubai Municipality to cut down the impact of plastic waste material, and boost the overall concept of recycling, and promoting the green circular economy in the Emirates.

The initiative is aligned with the Year of Sustainability in the United Arab Emirates. Al Hajri further mentioned that this noble initiative is in line with the Net Zero 2050 commitment of the United Arab Emirates and will fulfill the national targets, and all the other goals that are outlined in the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy for 2021-2041.

The approach will involve diverting 98 percent of plastic waste from the landfill path, including 50 percent of recycled materials.

Carbon neutralisation

The director general of Dubai Municipality, Dawoud Al Hajri said, “The initiative reflects Dubai Municipality’s commitment to promote individual social responsibility levels and actively engage both public and private entities in a focused effort to mitigate the harmful effects of plastic.” 

He further added, “Additionally, it seeks to bolster sustainability by diminishing the carbon footprint through offsetting the release of 102 tons of carbon dioxide gas, aligning with its strategic emphasis on comprehensive sanitation and waste management. The initiative aims to boost recycling, treatment, and electricity provision, ultimately enhancing the attractiveness and sustainability of Dubai.”

The major aim of this environmental initiative is to recognise Dubai as a city of the most sustaining city in the world, and known as the best city to live within. This is the very first initiative taken by any global city in the world hence it itself will be a great achievement to flaunt by the United Arab Emirates.