How Does Recycling Work in the UAE?

Each country and region of the world have their own environmental policies and methods that they utilise to help with the growing global waste issue.

The UAE similarly has its own waste management and recycling laws that both businesses and individuals must adhere to. You may be wondering: ‘how does recycling work in the UAE?’ Our guide will answer how recycling in the UAE works and highlight why securely recycling is important.

Recycling Policies and Schemes in the UAE

Like many countries, the UAE has made great efforts into reducing the waste produced by businesses and individuals across the emirates. Since as early as the 90s, the UAE has put policies and schemes in place to decrease waste; the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), a non-government organisation, reported that since 1991 they have prevented 22.8 million tonnes of paper, plastic, and glass from going to landfill. With the national strategy also aiming to divert 75% of waste from landfills with improved recycling efforts, the UAE is set to be recycling and managing waste at an extremely effective level.

Other green efforts are also being made by the UAE, such as converting waste into renewable energy and other resources, as well as establishing a Recycling Hub in Dubai where electronic waste can be disposed of securely. The UAE aims to be sending zero waste to landfill by 2030 through schemes that all businesses and individuals can follow. This includes installing colour-coded waste bins so all types of waste can be recycled accordingly depending on the material.

It’s vital that everyone recycles where possible, both in our businesses and everyday life, especially materials such as paper. In the UAE, each resident produces 1.8 kg of waste every day according to the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE). Part of this 1.8kg is made up of paper waste, and globally paper makes up 26% of landfills so recycling your paper waste is very important.

Although we’re living in a digital age, paper is still used in places of work, schools, and at home. In fact, the world’s consumption of paper has increased 400% in the last 40 years, so places such as the office can produce a lot of paper waste from materials such as documents, books, leaflets, and more. Therefore, the implementation of government schemes involving colour-coded waste bins and building Recycling Hubs is essential to diminishing the effects not recycling paper and other waste materials have on our environment.

However, it’s still important to remember to dispose of your paper waste carefully and securely with a leading information destruction company like Shred-it.

How to Recycle Paper Securely

Recycling in Dubai or any of the other emirates is essential to ensuring the protection of our environment, and although businesses trying to go greener by recycling is a great start it could be putting your business at risk of a data breach.

Simply recycling your confidential documents isn’t very secure as once collected they are often placed into clear recycling bags which are then left in unlocked outdoor recycling bins that anyone can have access to.

In the UAE, a data breach can cost up to with the dangers of a data breach in mind, it’s important to securely recycle paper waste in the office, and Shred-it can help businesses with our secure services.

We have two services that businesses can utilise to safely and securely recycle their paper waste, and this includes our On-demand Paper Shredding Service which is beneficial for businesses that less frequently need to shred their confidential documents. We can also offer our Regularly Scheduled Paper Shredding Service which can prove cost-effective and help your confidential information stay secure.

Unlike conventional recycling methods, our services store your confidential documents in in tamper-proof containers before being taken to our secure shredding facilities. Your confidential documents and files will then be sent to our trusted recycling partners that 100% recycle paper waste. When you securely recycle your paper with us you will also receive a Certification of Destruction so you are safe in the knowledge that your confidential data has been securely disposed of.

For every two secure shreds one tree is saved, so by recycling in Dubai and across all emirates with Shred-it, businesses are helping to save thousands of trees every year. Recycling also helps the environment in other ways, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving energy and water, so choosing to shred your confidential documents with Shred-it will help to protect the environment in many ways.

Get in touch today to see how our services can protect your employees, customers and company.

1 Source: 2016 Cost of a Data Breach Study: Global Analysis, Ponemon Institute LLC