DUBAI // Cleaning crews were out in force to pick up litter from the country’s parks, roads and beaches in a huge operation in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
After residents and tourists rang in 2017, Dubai Municipality workers dressed in orange overalls were gathering up plastic bottles, food trays, cans and leftover bunting and confetti in large bags.
Work to scrub and clean the streets and sidewalks clear of rubbish was completed hours before the city woke up to celebrate the first day of the new year.
At Dubai’s newest attraction, the Dubai Water Canal Boardwalk, bags of rubbish were neatly stacked along the path for collection before fitness enthusiasts set out for their early morning jog or walk.
“I have filled 50 to 60 bags of garbage since 4am so that everything is clear when people wake up, it’s our job to get everything back to normal,” said Mohammed Arif, a civic worker.
“Usually people keep the path clean, there are only a few bottles to pick up but on New Year’s Day the rubbish piles up.”
More than 1,000 staff from the municipality and private companies pitched in early on Sunday when the festivities ended.
Workers last year cleared 23 tonnes of waste from the Downtown Dubai area.
“The most collected again this year is from the Burj Khalifa area. Workers have just finished cleaning so we will have details only later,” a municipality official said.
“The main areas where there were too many people was Burj Khalifa, Downtown and surrounding Business Bay areas, Sheikh Zayed road, the new canal, Burj Al Arab, the Beach, Al Sufouh beach, Al Khail and Al Wasl roads. We talk to people to take plastic bags for rubbish and we even supply plastic bags also but on new year’s it is too much.” More info
By Staff thenational.ae
