Sharjah: Under the Patronage of the Ministry of Economy – United Arab Emirates, the 18th cycle of the annual national environmental campaign “Clean Up UAE”, EEG kicked off the campaign on a high note yesterday in the cultural capital of the UAE, the beautiful Emirate of Sharjah. The first leg of the campaign took off with around 1000 enthusiastic participants joining hands to be a part one of the biggest environmental campaign in the UAE. The atmosphere was charged with enthusiasm and motivation as volunteers, equipped with bio-degradable trash bags, cotton re-usable gloves, caps and t-shirts, picked up trash one by one in a massive Clean Up drive that collected approximately 2.5 tonnes of waste of which 700 Kg was segregated for Recyling at the beautiful wide expanse of the Al Maliha site in a span of two hours. 

Emirates Environmental Group is thankful to the supporters of the Campaign in the Emirate of Sharjah –Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services and Bee’ah, Nestle Middle East for providing water, Fujariah Plastic Factory for providing biodegradable plastic bags, Almarai for the Juices and Al Jazeera International Catering for snacks. 

The event began with hoisting the Clean-Up UAE flag, followed by the opening speech by Mrs. Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group, announcing the start of the 10-day long campaign that is to set sail and dock at multiple Emirates in the country. 

In her opening statement the chairperson of EEG said “This year’s event will not only celebrate and uphold the vision, mission and tradition of EEG to conserve and protect our country and planet The theme of the campaign this year is “Are you the solution to this Pollution” which focuses on the role of everyone regardless of their status, nationality, gender etc. This bodes well with the theme set this year by the leadership of the Country “The Year of Tolerance” In creating this fabric of togetherness, Tolerance is the thread that will weave safety, stability and happiness into the lives of people across the world. With Tolerance, we can hope to build the world as one family that shares with each other the benefices of the planet, where future generations continue to understand, empathise with and support each other’s needs and aspirations.”

“This is a community celebration. We are proud to say that we’ve seen how members of the entire family – mothers, fathers, daughters and sons – come together to serve as volunteers.  It also gives us great satisfaction that our activity is highly anticipated by residents of various communities every year,” Mrs Habiba added.

Year after year the Clean-Up UAE Campaign has seen dedicated participation from organisations, governments, academia, students, families and individuals. The continuity of the Clean Up UAE campaign for the last 18 years is solely due to the diligence and whole-hearted participation of every individual in the UAE. 

The core message behind the Clean Up UAE has remained constant since inception. It is therefore essential to reiterate the necessity of preserving the environment by maintaining cleanliness, recycling and making this an integral part of the daily culture of the UAE society. The decision makers take the necessary decisions at the National and Local platforms, but the real change can be brought about by hands on action at the grassroots level. It is through such effective operations that one can draw raw materials and other such environmentally valuable material away from landfills, in addition to conserving natural resources from the risk of exhaustion in order to create a secure and sustainable future. As an accredited body of the UNEP, EEG is proud to announce that the Clean Up UAE 2019 will act as an effective implementation platform for the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities; Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production; Goal 13: Climate action; Goal 15: Life on land; Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals