Residents can take part

Did you know there’s a social experiment happening in Dubai?
Authorities are now carrying the first social experiment in Dubai this Ramadan, which residents can take part in from the comfort of their home.
The study, conducted by Dubai Carbon, aims to map the behavioural patterns in food waste and other resources in Ramadan in support of the emirate’s transition to a sustainable society
Ivano Iannelli, chief executive officer of Dubai Carbon, said: “Engaging the general population, in tracking their consumption patterns, is not only a great tool to educate and seed the idea of changing their daily habits to being more energy efficient and reducing their waste, but ensure that there are financial benefits for each individual or family in doing so.”
The social experiment requires consumers to provide data on domestic waste one creates, as well as on transportation, electricity and water.
In addition, it is not only the public who have been invited to participate, as business leaders and stakeholders of Dubai Carbon have already been involved in the experiment.
According to Dubai Carbon, the ability to map individual behavioural patterns is key towards boosting efficient use of resources, and help in reducing carbon footprint.
“It is a sad truth that food wastage goes up to 2.7kg from 1.8kg per person, per day during Ramadan. This is a significant increase, and should be addressed the right way. We believe this social experiment will help us in understanding different trends in the emirate, especially given the diversity of the people living here,” said Iannelli.
On the other hand, this data-centric approach is also expected to help in building a foundation for government policies, and drive change in the way people utilise resources in their day-to-day life.
He also noted that most households leave the cleaning and disposal of waste to their domestic staff.
“It is important for everyone to participate as it provides an immediate snapshot of their best practices in waste and recycling.
“Only once we have identified patterns that meet our statistical analysis we will be able to design the programme and incentives to support individual households with their pursuit of efficiency and facilitate the move towards a more circular economy,” he added.
Source : Gulf News