RAK's Pioneering Hotel Recycling Initiative saves 130 tonnes of recyclable waste from landfill each month

RAS AL KHAIMAH, (Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2018) The Ras al-Khaimah, RAK, Green Hotel scheme has recorded a 120 percent increase in the amount of recyclable waste that is being diverted from landfills each month since it was launched just over two years ago.

The environmental initiative, which was introduced in March 2016 by Ras al-Khaimah’s Waste Management Agency, WMA, has resulted in 130 tonnes of waste materials being sorted and separated at the source for recycling each month – up from an initial 60 tonnes per month.

The WMA staff collect plastic, glass, cardboard, electronics and other recyclable waste from 26 hotels located throughout the UAE’s northernmost emirate. Each hotel has more than 100 rooms.

Earlier this year, WMA set each of the properties participating in the Ras al-Khaimah Green Hotel scheme the goal of sorting and separating 30 percent of all recyclable rubbish and food waste.

As of 18th September, hotels have either reached or exceed this target, some hotels having an impressive waste diversion rate of 70 percent.

The RAK Green Hotel scheme is part of the emirate’s drive to reach the 2021 UAE National Target of diverting 75 percent of all recyclable waste from landfills and to reduce the amount of waste produced by each resident to just 1.5kg each day down from the current national average of 2.7kg.

The long-term goal of the Government of Ras al-Khaimah is to help every hotel in the emirate reach 100 percent sustainability to help promote traditional tourism and to boost the development of RAK’s growing eco-tourism sector.

The Public Service Department, PSD, in Ras al-Khaimah, represented by RAKWMA, along with RAK’s Tourist Development Agency, conducts yearly inspections of the waste management practices of each hotel involved in the RAK Green Hotel scheme.

As a result, 10 of the 26 hotels have been categorised as having "excellent waste management practices", 13 have "good waste management" while three hotels have "waste management practices that can be improved".

Ahmed Mohammed Al Hammadi, Director-General of the PSD said that these initiatives are in line with the national targets set by UAE Vision 2021.

Sonia Nasser, Executive Director of RAKWMA said, "The Waste Management Agency’s ‘Green Hotel Scheme’ has been hugely successful since it was launched in 2016.

"With 26 of the largest hotels in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah participating in the initiative, and with the majority performing extremely well, we are confident of achieving even greater success in the future by diverting even more recyclable waste from going to landfills.

"The overall aim of the Government of Ras al-Khaimah and the Waste Management Agency is to improve recycling rates across the emirate and to raise the community’s awareness of important sustainability initiatives to help preserve our natural environment."