Time for a new take on rubbish

Residents would regularly recycle but the lack of infrastructure is holding them back

Shamshuddin, an Indian living in Abu Dhabi, talks about recycling in the Old Mushrif neighborhood in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

Walking or driving along the streets of Abu Dhabi, one wouldn’t think of the growing waste problem facing the capital. The streets are clean and free from any evidence of rubbish. But the city produces a staggering amount of rubbish, most of which ends up in landfill.

As The National reported yesterday, the appearance of cleanliness gives the false impression that waste is a not an immediate or long-term challenge facing Abu Dhabi. However, with a population that is expected to double over the next 25 years, rubbish management is a profound challenge that requires new solutions.

The creation of better recycling infrastructure and more awareness of the amount of waste that individuals produce on a daily basis is the best response to the crisis. This is especially true for temporary residents who might not feel like they have a long-term stake in the cleanliness of the city.

Germany provides a possible blueprint for modifying our relationship with refuse. Cities like Frankfurt and Munich have perfectly manicured streets free of rubbish similar to Abu Dhabi. But the Government, on both a federal and local level, also invests handsomely in state-of-the-art recycling infrastructure. The resulting social consciousness about the need to recycle might actually go too far. If, for example, you don’t sort your rubbish from recyclable materials, refuse collectors will not accept it until it is properly sorted.

While the German model might be ideal from a standpoint of residents taking an active role in recycling, it didn’t materialise overnight. Rather, a culture of awareness took years to develop once the recycling infrastructure was in place. The same could be true in Abu Dhabi. We can’t expect a city that has little recycling infrastructure to immediately transform itself into a completely green city.

We should start small with better paper or plastic recyclable collection service and more awareness about our waste challenges. It will be a long journey that will require a new approach to how residents and citizens interact with society.