Kids need to see theory in practice says Bee'ah

The new green and blue bins are aimed at encouraging residents to segregate their waste.

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Bee'ah has challenged itself with the target of achieving 50% waste diversion from landfill by the end of 2012 to help it stay on track for zero waste to landfill by 2015.

The company has just launched new blue and green bins across Sharjah as part of its residential recycling programme to encourage residents to separate their waste, cutting down on what goes to landfill.

"We are currently reaching more than 40% and need every percent in order to reach our objective of 100% waste [diversion from] landfill by 2015," commented H.E. Salim Al Owais, Chairman, Bee'ah.

Al Owais told fmME that the company had effectively reached younger children through its School of Environment program, but that it was important children see the theory in practice in order to make a difference to future generations.

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"It is important to bring recycling inside the house,” he said. “We covered it in school but it is important for them to see it in practice."

The launch of the new bins will go hand in hand with a kit to be distributed to residents, advising them on how the entire process works and the importance of waste segregation.

"Education is key. It certainly will be a big change for some people, so Bee’ah will be providing informative tools to raise awareness and help answer questions. Residents have already responded very well to previous recycling pilots, and we are sure people in Sharjah will embrace the new Residential Recycling programme once it is fully rolled out," explained Khaled Al Huraimel, CEO of Bee'ah.

Najib Faris, marketing manager, Bee'ah advised though cultural barriers pose challenges in terms of communicating initiatives and encouraging residents to trust Bee’ah’s representatives as they offered door-to-door education sessions, the company’s close relationship with the Sharjah Municipality helped somewhat.

"We have rolled out the materials in a number of languages to tackle those challenges, and while welcoming is based on trust, Bee’ah is trusted because of its links with Sharjah Municipality. Residents also recognise the campaign, because they recycling kits have already been distributed," he said.