Dubai: Dubai Municipality on Thursday inaugurated its 11th Smart Sustainable Oasis project to collect recyclable materials in Al Twar 2 area.

Ahmad Abdul Karim, assistant director-general of Dubai Municipality for General Support Sector, opened the facility in the presence of Talib Julfar, assistant director-general for Environmental and Public Health Services Sector, Abdul Majeed Abdul Aziz Al Saifaie, director of Waste Management Department, and a large number of environmental stakeholders and senior officials.

Julfar stressed the importance of the Smart Sustainability Oasis project, which is considered a mine for recyclable materials.

“The centre is smart, sustainable and unique. It includes containers of different colours to collect a large number of recyclable materials aimed at protecting the environment and ensuring its sustainability for the future generations,” he said in a press release.

The recyclable materials that can be deposited in the centre include paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, glass, used clothing, textile waste, rubber, leather, consumable electrical appliances, used phones, dry batteries, wood and other materials.

“We have installed such facilities in 11 areas in Dubai so far. Two more will be installed by the end of the first phase of the implementation of this huge project, which represents an important step towards integrated solutions to reduce waste production in the emirate of Dubai, adopting proper disposal methods, and safe and healthy treatment of waste,” he said.

Al Saifaie said the next two centres will be installed in Al Satwa and Muhaisnah.

“In the coming stages, we will have strategic cooperation with commercial establishments and major shopping centres in the emirate to disseminate a culture of waste sorting among all segments of the society and encourage them to follow the best global practices for the proper disposal of waste.”

He said these centres are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “During the design stage, we have taken care to meet the requirements of the ‘People of Determination.’ Each container in the centre is connected to sensors to monitor the level of materials and measure their approximate size. The centre is also provided with a Makani number (3733595088) for smart geographical addressing of the site and for planning the route and has also simplified the access process accurately in a timely manner.”

The project is in line with the environmental goals of the National Agenda 2021 and achieving the National Index of transferring 75 per cent of the waste produced in the emirate from the landfill for recycling and also as a translation of the ambitious vision of Dubai Municipality in building a happy and sustainable city.