Domestic waste in Dubai hits all-time high THE annual per capita domestic waste generated in Dubai has touched an all-time high of 941kg, with the Arabian Gulf's trading and hospitality hub generating 811,080 tonnes of domestic waste last year. According to Dubai Municipality officials, the annual per capita domestic waste generation was 779kg in the year 1999 and 753kg in 1998. As many as 667,674 tonnes of domestic waste was generated in 1999 as against 605,928 tonnes produced in 1998. They attributed the sharp increase in domestic waste generation in the emirate to rise in population which stood at 862,000 last year, up from 857,000 in 1999 and 805,000 in 1998. In addition to this, there has been a substantial increase in waste generated from industrial and commercial sectors. An unprecedented 4.21 million tonnes of general waste was produced in the emirate last year, up from 4.01 million in 1999 and 3.84 million in 1998. The civic body, with the help of private sector and non-government organisations (NGOs), has been working towards reducing the volume of waste generated in the emirate. A senior official admitted that the Target 555, a community-based campaign launched by the municipality four years ago to bring down the annual waste generation to 555kg per person by the year 2001, has failed to achieve the desired objective. "Target 555 was our objective. We could not achieve what we expected. "This is partly due to the phenomenal growth Dubai has witnessed in the past five years and failure to get the needed amount of public response, " said Qassim Sultan, Director-General of Dubai Municipality. Officially running since 1997, the Target 555 is the first community waste minimisation campaign in the Gulf region. "If not 2001, we will achieve the desired results of the Target 555 programme by 2002," he said, adding that the programme has helped reduce waste generation to a considerable extent." The current volume of waste generation makes Dubai one of the highest per capita waste generation city in the world. Dubai's waste production is considered quite high compared with 550kg reported by the European Union's Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and a typical western European average of below 400kg, 680kg of Australia, 875kg in the US and 246kg in Italy. With the exception of a large fluctuation in waste generation due to population movements during the Gulf conflict in 1990 and a slow growth period in 1994-1995, the general waste stream has been showing a sharp growth level. To achieve the Target 555, the recycling rate was expected to have increased from 12 per cent for the total waste stream to 33 per cent. However, a municipality document revealed that 50,306 tonnes of waste, including 47,175 tonnes of paper and cartons and 2,415 tonnes of oil waste, was lifted for recycling in Dubai last year, down from 60,116 tonnes in the previous year. A Dh20 million facility for recycling of domestic waste for manufacturing fertiliser is being set up at Al Awir by a local company in collaboration with InterPlan Environmental Systems GmbH of Germany. When it becomes fully operational by 2003, the Methane gas-based plant will have annual production capacity of 200,000 tonnes of fertiliser. "With this plant becoming operational, it will reduce the need for landfill sites, currently used to dispose off about 2,900 tonnes of domestic waste generated daily in the emirate, by up to 90 per cent," said Mr Sultan.

Keeping the group and its cause from fading into oblivion has not been an easy task especially when older founding members gradually dispersed to fulfil their other obligations in life. Only Habiba has stuck on -- her mission clear, her vision focused, her efforts more determined each year. She doesn't get upset when some leave; there are always new enthusiasts waiting to join the ranks. "We manage to carry each other. We move on," she shrugs.

A mother of five -- four children and the EEG -- Habiba didn't begin her environmental efforts from a plush office with a list of readymade patrons waiting to further the cause of a green society. Sponsors were few, knowledge about waste management almost nil and ignorance rampant. With a shoestring budget, the group just about managed to survive by operating out of homes, borrowed conference rooms and public platforms for six years. It was not until 1997 that their efforts were finally recognised and they were offered a small office at the shopping mall adjoining the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza on Sheikh Zayed road.

Chair made of 100 per cent recycled plastic

Today, the EEG operates from there. The group tries to set a good example to all those who step into their office and their homes. Separate boxes are placed to dump different kinds of waste - namely paper, plastic and cartridges. At the office, products made of recycled waste like slippers, a chair and magazines are displayed at the entrance to the office. You wouldn't know that the sturdy chair placed at the entrance is manufactured from garbage if it were not for the notice on it that declares: "100% recycled plastic", the slippers on display look comfortable and the group's magazine is a shade of elegant brown. At Habiba's home, separating garbage has become a way of life. "It doesn't take any effort. Even my little ones do it," she says.

But it's not just their homes and office circles that they are working to change. Environmental campaigns held in the country are planned and coordinated within the four corners of this little office. Campaigns among children are conducted once in a while to urge youngsters to get into the habit of leaving their environment clean. Garbage bins are placed everywhere to encourage proper disposal of waste. People are also encouraged to participate in voluntary beach and neighbourhood cleanups.

At the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza recycling centre, Habiba stands beside the machine that powders plastic bottles.

And Habiba doesn't stop with the public. She has taken her cause to the corporate sector as well. The hotel industry, which generates a great deal of waste daily, is urged to classify its garbage for recycling purposes. "Many hotels have obliged," says Habiba. The Crowne Plaza itself boasts of a recycling centre at the rim of its premises, where cardboard boxes and different types of plastic bottles are collected in separate sections. At the Centre is also housed a machine that powders plastic bottles.

It looks like a great deal is being done - the private and public sectors have been mobilised into action, youngsters are keeping their schools clean and the Dubai Municipality has kept garbage bins all over the city. There seem to be no problem except when you see soft drink cans lying on the beach and cigarette butts littering bus stops and roads. That's on a more basic level. There are other problems waiting to be addressed -- the use of leaded petrol, smoke emissions, wastage of oil and water and so on.

"It is not the ignorance," explains Habiba, "but the indifference that is daunting. To choose not to do something. That is where the problem lies," she points out. But there is determination and grit in this woman to move ahead. And some of her efforts are paying off. The government has begun to give the EEG the recognition it deserves. The ISO 14001 award is a bonus. It doesn't just give the group a badly-needed local recognition; it also brings in its wake fresh challenges. Hopefully, the award will rake in more sponsors as well as create a greater awareness among the public.

Recycling Your Cartridge Remanufactured cartridges cost 40 to 50% less than new ones. Recycling your used cartridges by sending them to be remanufactured reduces solid waste, saves money and natural resources without compromising on quality. The cartridge remanufacturing industry provides numerous benefits to the community: For every cartridge that is manufactured, 2.5 pounds of plastic is withheld from the waste stream. This plastic (typically industrial grade) takes around 1000 years to decompose. The US remanufacturing industry saves 73.5 million pounds per year from landfills. The manufacture of new cartridge uses fossil fuel. On an average 3 quats of oil are burnt to make each new cartridge. In the US, re-manufacturers as an industry saved more oil in a 7-month period than was spilled in Alaska, during the Exxcon oil spilt in 1989. If you wish to join EEG's cartridge recycling programme, contact them at 04-3318100

Habiba is clearly happy. With the number of activists joining the green bandwagon, the environment has suddenly become "an everyday topic. It is on the agenda of decision makers," she says and "it should be." As Habiba explains, "the population has risen from 1.7 million to 3 million here. We need to do something quickly to handle waste management."

You can see she is secretly pleased with her efforts. But it's not yet time to sit back and relax. There is much to be done. Oil is likely to run out eventually. "Don't worry. If God has given us black gold, which is oil, he has also given us yellow gold, which is the sun," she says confidently, referring to the rich potential that lies in solar energy. "You just should know how to harvest it."

Meanwhile, she doesn't pass up any chance to rope in one more person to do their bit for the environment. When I leave, she hands me a box to keep at the office for dumping cartridges. "When it's full, just give us call, and we'll get it picked up," she says.