Recycle For Money: Here’s What You Need To Know
One of the ways to encourage sustainable use of plastics is to promote recycling, and a great incentive for this is to recycle for money. Many countries and cities have implemented programs where people can earn money by collecting and recycling plastic bottles and other plastic materials. This not only reduces the amount of plastic waste in the environment but also provides a financial incentive for people to engage in eco-friendly behavior.To encourage the people of UAE to recycle plastics and to keep things interesting and exciting for us, the government has come up with a way to recycle for money. Let’s see what it’s all about-
Can You Get Paid to Recycle?
You sure can! To aid your efforts, plastic recycling in Dubai and across our country has become pretty accessible to the general public in more than one way. Apart from the traditional recycling bins for waste segregation, UAE residents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi can now access reverse-vending machines in the respective cities to sell empty bottles and get paid to recycle their trash.
Reverse-vending machines installed at Yas Mall and World Trade Centre mall in Abu Dhabi have been pivotal in this project as more and more people take an effort to recycle their plastic bottles and collect incentives in return. Here is how it works-
- When you use the Cycled Smart Bins to sell empty bottles, you will collect one point per bottle.
- On collecting 250 points, users will receive a Dh50 voucher that’s accepted at many of the participating outlets in these malls including Carrefour Markets, Lulu Hypermarkets, and Virgin Megastores.
- The points can also be translated to Netflix gift cards, which can be used to pay for a Netflix subscription.
First piloted in 2020 and officially launched in 2021, this unique project has been found successful over the many months since its conception. In June 2022, an average of 35 kilograms of empty plastic bottles were found to be collected daily at the WTC mall. The Cycled Smart Bins can scan the incoming product to identify the material, sort, collect and process them before rewarding the user.
To use the Cycled Smart Bins for plastic recycling, users can download the Cycled mobile application and scan the QR code on the machine before depositing their plastic waste. Once completed, the user can hit the redeem reward option on the app to collect their vouchers.
Regular users of the Cycled Smart Bins are now endorsing this project, confirming that it has helped them become more conscious of the benefits of recycling, helping them earn rewards on the side.
A similar initiative was introduced at Abu Dhabi’s main bus station as well, where commuters could earn points to pay for fares every time they deposit plastic bottles in a reverse-vending machine. This “Points for Plastic: the Bus Tariff” initiative launched by the Integrated Transport Centre of the Department of Municipalities and Transport encourages commuters to earn points and pay for their trips by simply exchanging their empty plastic containers at the deposit machine. Today around 3,000 bottles on average are deposited into the machine every week.
Photo by The National News
The deposit machine operated by DGrade, one of the UAE’s top sustainable cloth manufacturing companies, gives one point for every single small bottle measuring 600ml or less and two points for bottles exceeding 600ml. Each point is worth 10 fils, making 10 points equivalent to Dh1. Users can transfer the money earned by selling empty bottles through the deposit machine to the “Hafilat” personalized bus card and pay for their travels on public transport.
Dgrade has also placed recycle machines in Carrefour and Spinneys Supermarkets in districts such as Layan, Arabian Ranches 2, Al Wasl, and Jumeirah in Dubai. Users receive various incentives including shopping points and vouchers depending on the participating outlets. The company’s game-changer idea of turning plastic into clothing has been well received by the country’s residents, as everyone is collectively putting their best foot forward towards a sustainable future.
Stay in the Loop, Take a Step Forward
As the country is making strides in curbing the use of single-use plastics and encouraging plastic bottle recycling, more initiatives are sure to follow. You can now join our community to use plastic responsibly and stay informed on what’s new with plastic recycling in Dubai and across the nation.
