Dubai: do not throw away plastic bottles; turn them into keychains, flower pots – News

Visitors to Expo City on Monday had the opportunity to turn plastic bottle caps into flower pots and take apart their old gadgets to learn about recycling. The event, which marked World Recycling Day, encouraged visitors to bring their own old plastic bottles, cans, cartons and devices to discover methods of reusing them.

It was a moment of clarity for 13-year-old Rahul Akula, who visited the facility as part of a school trip. “I always used to see these separate trash cans everywhere, but I never paid attention to them,” he said. “Today they explained to us what to put in each container and why it was important to segregate.”

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Recycling has been strongly encouraged in the UAE recently, with residents encouraged to be sustainable. Dubai Municipality’s waste management department has an ambitious plan to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills to zero over the next decade.

Products made from plastic lids demonstrated at Expo City Dubai

Recycling has received a significant boost in the UAE recently, urging residents to adopt sustainable practices. Dubai Municipality’s waste management department has drawn up an ambitious plan to completely eliminate waste disposal in landfills over the next decade.

Local companies

Several local startups were part of the event at the Al Wasl Dome. One was Precious Plastic Dubai, run by Mexican expatriate Hernán Torres. Torres, a full-time flight attendant, started the company as a passion project. “I have been living in the UAE for 11 years and wanted to contribute to the country,” he said.

Hernán Torres, director Plastico Precioso Dubai.

With the help of a global network of like-minded environmental enthusiasts, Torres has built a bike that helps crush and pulverize plastic bottles and caps when pedaled. “I just finished building it two weeks ago,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve mentioned it in public and I already see some minor adjustments I need to make. I have no engineering experience, so it takes me up to 6 months to complete the build of a machine.”

Once shredded, the plastic is placed into a separate machine, which melts it and turns it into various items, including key chains, flower pots, and coasters. Torres said his biggest challenge was finding time for the passion project. “I have a full-time job and I’m raising two daughters,” she said. “So I’m struggling to find time to work on the project, but I’m determined to keep going. Sometimes when I travel, I go to local recycling places and see if there are ways to collaborate with them.”

Recycling subscription

Another local startup that was at the event was Reloop and its sister company Ecyclex. It featured a session where visitors could bring their old devices and take them apart to see how they worked. “The students were especially excited to see the parts of their device,” said co-founder Youssef Chehade.

Ecyclex, founded in 2012, refurbishes usable devices and sells unusable parts to factories. In 2021, Reloop was created, offering recycling subscription services to homes and businesses.

Students watch the demonstration at Expo City Dubai

Priced at Dh25 for a one-off collection and Dh69 for a monthly subscription with four collection trips, the service collects everything from plastics and cardboard to batteries and cooking oil. “Very soon we will also start collecting food from individuals,” he said. “These will then be composted and used as fertilizers.”

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