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Is glass recyclable in the UAE?

Writer's picture: Safi Roshdy | صافي رشديSafi Roshdy | صافي رشدي

Did you know that glass can take 1 million years to decompose in the environment?


Help us identify the year the Pepsi bottle in the photo was produced. The photo is that of glass bottles we collected during ONE underwater cleanup.


If you are buying single use items in glass rather than plastic containers did you consider the fossil fuel emissions resulting from transporting the heavier glass around?


How would you repurpose these bottles for reuse and how many bottles could you possibly repurpose?


Glass can get recycled but melting it for recycling in still energy intensive.


The energy savings from recycling glass are relatively small, roughly 15%. - americangeosciences.org


Notice the labels on the bottles? Yep, those are made from plastic and as you can see have been polluting our water for years as they disintegrate. In the picture you can identify an old Pepsi label with the Dubai Shopping Festival logo on it.


The plastic cap rings and broken glass add to the chocking and maiming hazards our marine life have to put up with.


Does glass get recycled in the UAE? Yes and no. Because it can break easily, glass doesn’t lend itself to baling (compacting) at the waste management facilities, but when there is a economically lucrative demand for it, glass (including broken up pieces) can be sorted out from the trash and room can be made for it to be collected in separate containers.


Help spread the word. Shop responsibly!


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نسعى لتعزيز المسؤولية البيئية والاجتماعية استنادا الى البحوث و الدراسات الميدانية و نقوم بتنظيم حملات التوعوية وانشطة ترويجية على الصعيد المهني و الاجتماعي 

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