Around 300 million tons of plastic is produced on average every year, as stated by Worldwatch Institute, a US-based environmental research organisation. Out of this, only about 10 per cent is recycled. A report published in The New York Times states that seven million tons of discarded plastic ends up in the oceans.
These startling facts are the reason behind my initiative to recycle plastic on a daily basis. I still remember the first time I saw a reverse vending machine at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, in 2014, and I put my first plastic bottle into it. I was amazed at the technique and how plastic bottles are crushed and recycled.
I went home and researched online to find out more about these machines and since that day, I have visited these machines at various locations around the UAE. In March this year, I managed to collect nearly 500 plastic bottles, which I deposited at Bee’ah’s reverse vending machine at the American University of Sharjah campus.
This is my contribution towards saving the planet. I also give away cans and newspapers for recycling. We can find plastic bottles everywhere, and most people tend to use them on a daily basis. Instead of throwing them around, find such vending machines and deposit them, or even segregate them into allocated garbage bins. This would be a great step towards a cleaner environment.
If we don’t recycle plastic bottles, it will lead to an increase in plastic pollution, which cannot be ignored. We know about the harmful effects of plastic pollution — such as plastic ingestion by sea turtles and camels — which, in the end, causes the death of the animal. Let’s do our bit to save this planet.
— The reader is a pupil based in Sharjah.
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