Tecom Investments, a member of Dubai Holding, said it has collected over a million kg of recyclable waste during its waste collection and recycling initiative, dubbed ‘Operation R’ (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) at its entities in the emirate.

Tecom Investments, a member of Dubai Holding, said it has collected over a million kg of recyclable waste during its recent cleaning campaign to create cleaner and safer environments for the business communities operating within Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Knowledge Village.

The campaign is aimed at creating cleaner and safer environments for the business communities operating within Dubai Media City, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Knowledge Village, said a statement from Tecom.

Since September 2011, Tecom Investments has driven the Operation R’ (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) and to date it has amassed an impressive 1,102,176 kg of recyclable materials.

The breakdown of the waste includes 740,748kg of paper; 323,945kg of cardboard; 17,373kg of plastic bottles; 11,144kg of aluminium cans
and 8,966kg of glass bottles.

‘Operation R’ is one of a number of proactive initiatives Tecom’s 10 inter-connected business parks have introduced to help raise awareness and reduce waste for the benefit of the 4,500 companies operating within them.

Last December, Enpark, Dubai’s only free zone dedicated to the energy and sustainability industries, worked in collaboration with Averda and Air Miles to roll out 15 new ReVa reverse vending machines across Tecom’s business parks, making them the first free zones in the UAE to provide the innovative recycling machines.

Tecom’s achievements in reducing its water and energy waste have also been recognised by the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) through their Heroes of the UAE programme.

At an awards ceremony held last week, Tecom was was officially announced as a ‘Verified Corporate Hero’ and honoured by Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, the Minister of Environment & Water.

The recognition came after Tecom delivered on its three environmental pledges, including the development and implementation of a measurable strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy and water consumption by 10 per cent each over 12 continuous months.

Tecom has a consistent track record in reducing waste, and since 2007 has achieved reductions in its electricity-related CO2 emissions of 16 per cent and in its water-related CO2 emissions of 39 per cent.

Badr Al Gergawi, the CEO (Engineering Management) at Tecom Investments, said, "We are delighted to have reached such a major milestone in our drive to raise awareness, reduce waste, and increase recycling within our business parks. This has proven to be a highly effective campaign and the next phase will be keeping up the momentum as well as successfully rolling it out across our other business parks."

"Tecom’s aim is to help create and maintain the best possible business environments and communities so that our many business partners can continue to grow and thrive," he added.-TradeArabia News Service