Solar-powered boats will help to keep Sharjah’s lagoons clean

SHARJAH // New solar-powered boats will remove up to 200 kilograms of waste a day from Sharjah’s lagoons, officials say.

The boats are being used along the Corniche at Al Khaled Lagoon, operated by staff from Tandeef, the waste collection and street cleaning division of Bee’ah.

Bee’ah already operates emission-free vehicles such as mobile waste compactors, automated sweepers and street vacuums.

“Tandeef’s fleet of electric-powered vehicles has proven to be highly cost effective and easy to maintain,” said Khaled Al Huraimel, Bee’ah’s group chief executive.

“We strive to significantly reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from our company’s equipment and vehicles.

“These new boats further accelerate our journey towards achieving zero waste to landfill in the emirate by 2015.”

Tandeef began the country’s first residential recycling programme in 2012 with the introduction of 2,000 bins – blue for recyclables and green for general waste.

When collected, their contents are taken to the waste-management centre in Al Sajaa where it is sorted and sent to the different plants according to waste type.

The centre also features a range of departments that focus on landfill re-engineering, education and outreach, and policy development.