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Abu Dhabi on Monday:- As part of its ongoing efforts to increase the public transport sector’s contribution to achieving a more sustainable life in Abu Dhabi and to foster innovation in initiatives that are consistent with the vision of the wise leadership and the UAE’s national agenda to achieve sustainable development goals and enhance the quality of life in Abu Dhabi, and in line with Abu Dhabi’s single-use plastic policy, which is working to establish an incentive-based plastic bottle return scheme, the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi, has launched a new initiative under the title, "Points for Plastic: the Bus Tariff".
The initiative encourages public transport passengers to obtain free trips on public buses by gaining points each time they hand in empty plastic bottles, which are then used to pay for bus fares. The initiative has been launched in cooperation with Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre "Tadweer", and "DGrade”, a UAE-based company that specializes in recycling plastics into different industrial materials by using environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies, whereby empty plastic bottles are deposited in "Dgrade" machines and a voucher containing points is obtained for each plastic bottle handed in. The campaign aims to increase recycling rates in cooperation between relevant strategic partners.
The points balance can be compiled and transferred to the “Hafilat” Personalized Bus Card, the ITC automated payment system, which calculates the fare required for the trip and automatically deducts it from the cash value stored in the card via the tariff machines installed at bus entrances and exits.
In the first phase of the initiative, a plastics deposit machine will be installed in Abu Dhabi’s main bus station enabling passengers to exchange empty plastic containers for points. The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre "Tadweer" will be providing the necessary support to collect empty plastic containers from the main bus stations and deliver to the treatment facilities to be recycled in accordance with the best sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
The ITC confirmed that the points will be calculated as follows: each single small bottle (600 ml or less) will gain 1 point, while larger containers or bottles exceeding 600 ml will gain 2 points. Each point is equal 10 fils, so 10 points equals AED 1. The ITC has finalised all the details, requirements and guidelines for the launch of this initiative, and has clarified the mechanism for collecting points through the empty bottle deposit machines.
The initiative aims to promote a culture of sustainability emanating from the vision of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi and the Integrated Transport Centre for a greener lifestyle in Abu Dhabi and support environmental sustainability, as well as to encourage individuals to use public transport and join the circular economy by taking advantage of the points gained, which in turn helps facilitate the journey towards sustainable living.
"Points for Plastic: the Bus Tariff" initiative is a great example of cooperation between the Integrated Transport Centre and its strategic partners in both the public and private sectors, supporting nationwide policies to reduce plastic waste, protect the environment, promote recycling and reuse of resources, and reward environmentally responsible behaviour in a way that promotes a culture of sustainability, enhances the role of the community in environmental conservation and to adopt an environmentally friendly lifestyle in Abu Dhabi.
The Integrated Transport Centre is looking forward to hearing the passengers’ reaction to the initiative and finding out more about the community’s opinions and ideas that contribute to promoting a culture of environmental sustainability. The ITC will measure the impact of the experiment and the extent to which passengers interact with it with a view to developing plan that will enable the initiative to be extended to other areas in Abu Dhabi Emirate.
The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) pointed out the importance of this initiative as a pilot initiative for bottle recovery and recycling, stressing that the EAD is working very closely with its partners from the public and private sectors to launch an integrated bottle return scheme in key locations, as well as encouraging initiatives to collect bottles from homes in a way that is based on incentive rewards.
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