Dubai homes to get two bins each as communal waste containers go

Dubai Municipality is replacing the large communal waste containers on residential streets with two bins for every home: one for general rubbish and one for recyclables. Distribution has started in Al Mizhar 4, and the same system already runs in Jumeirah, Al Barsha North and Al Mizhar 1 and 2, Gulf News reported on Tuesday.

The plan was explained by Adel Al Marzouqi, chief executive of the municipality's Waste and Sewerage Agency, in a live broadcast on Noor Dubai Radio. It is part of the municipality's long-running My City, My Environment project, which first tested separate household bins in Al Mizhar more than a decade ago.

Each household bin will carry a barcode that the collection crew scans when they empty it, and every collection will be documented with photographs. The municipality will use that record to follow how collection is going and to see how much waste each home produces. Homes that cut their waste the most will be recognised under a programme whose details are still to be announced.

According to the report, the change answers complaints residents raised about the shared containers: some did not want a large container outside their house, others found the nearest one too far away, and people from outside the neighbourhood were using them, which added to the waste and hurt cleanliness.

The municipality is also working with Tadbeer centres and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to train domestic workers to sort waste, and with Furjan Dubai on awareness visits in the neighbourhoods. A municipality timetable for the next areas has not been published.

What it means at home: if you live in a villa area where the new bins are arriving, keep general rubbish and recyclables apart, as each bin is scanned and photographed when emptied. If the standard bin is too small for your household, you can ask the municipality for a larger one. No fees have been announced for the bins or the service. Questions and requests go to Dubai Municipality through its call centre on 800 900 or the Dubai Municipality app.