DUBAI // A mass clean-up operation is under way at Dubai Creek to reduce the risk of flooding during the winter.
In preparation for the cooler and rainier months, Dubai Municipality’s waste management department has begun cleaning the rainwater drainage holes at the Creek to remove sewage and debris that may obstruct the flow of water.
This should prevent flooding during rainy spells, the municipality said.
Abdul Majeed Saifaie, the director of the waste management department, said the operation was an annual procedure.
He added that the team of technicians and cleaners took into account the times of the ebbing tide, the flow and water level. The clean-up also required the closure of all water pumping ports in cooperation with the Sewerage and Irrigation Network Department.
Yaqoub Mohammed Al Ali, head of the cleaning section at the municipality, said barriers and bumpers would be placed on the Creek’s surface where debris accumulated to help prevent the spread of waste.
He said workers this year were using a new submarine boat to remove the residuals left after accidents in the waterways outside the Creek.
During the first half of this year, 283 tonnes of debris and sewage was removed from the Creek.
jbell@thenational.ae
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
The specs
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