Dubai Airports steps up waste recyling

Dubai Airports has stepped up its efforts to limit the environmental impact of solid waste by recycling more than 530 tonnes of paper, cartons and plastic rubbish collected throughout Dubai International Airport in the first six months of 2012. Between January and June this year Dubai Airports collected 426 tonnes of cardboard, 54 tonnes of plastic, 13 tonnes of plastic bottles and aluminium cans, and 37 tonnes of paper for recycling. “We are increasingly focusing our efforts on limiting the impact of our operations on the environment and ultimately contributing to the development of a clean, sustainable future for a sector that contributes 28 per cent of Dubai’s GDP,” Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said. In its bid to focus public attention on the need for a more sustainable approach to aviation, Dubai Airports will this year again join volunteers, companies and environmental groups around the world in support of Clean up the World Day on September 16. The initiative now in its 20th year is held in conjunction with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), that mobilises an estimated 35 million volunteers from 130 countries annually, making it one of the largest community-based environmental campaigns in the world.