Every year, thousands of school children and volunteers across the Arabian Gulf join hands to clean up their local environment for Waste Free Environment (WFE). A recycling initiative from the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), WFE aims to promote recycling and encourages a more responsible attitude towards litter disposal. Besides being a cleanup, each Waste Free Environment event has a strong educational component, teaching participants to reduce, reuse and recycle; how to recycle by explaining what goes where; and promoting that materials such as plastics can have a useful second life.
In 2016, the fourth edition of Waste Free Environment, For the second time, WFE was celebrated not only in the Arabian Gulf, but successfully exported to Shanghai, China; Mumbai in India; Singapore; and Sittard/Geleen and The Hague in the Netherlands.
GPCA’s Waste Free Environment (WFE) campaign, now in it’s fifth year, recently expanded into three new territories, adding the U.S., Australia and Sri Lanka to its global reach. Growing participation in the WFE initiative encompasses 29 companies and thousands of volunteers across 23 cities internationally. In 2016 WFE hosted clean ups in 28 locations in 17 cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ruwais in the UAE; Jubail, Yanbu, Riyadh, Hafr Al-Batin and Nariyah in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City in Kuwait; Manama in Bahrain; Al Wakra in Qatar; and Al Rustaq in Oman. That year 11,787 people participated in the campaign including students from 73 schools and universities. Jointly, they collected 179 tons of waste that was transferred to recycling facilities.
WFE is a key element in GPCA’s broader advocacy activities and with the support of its members, GPCA will continue to expand this recycling initiative by stretching the event further around the globe. For more information: www.wastefreeenvironment.com
