Carrefour collects 2.5 tonnes of waste in Ras Al Nouf Beach

The clean up drive witnessed enthusiastic participation from over 150 Carrefour employees.

Marine debris which constitutes anything from urban waste to abandoned fishing gear, causes extensive damage to the marine ecology. The employees collected over 2.5 tonnes of waste which included items such as broken glass, metal items with toxic chemicals, food containers, tiers, beverages bottles, cigarettes and cigarette filters, syringes, fishing traps etc.

Every year the waves carry these harmful pollutants to sea injuring and killing thousands of marine animals that swallow it or become entangled in it. Even important aquatic habitats, like coral reefs and sea grass beds are not spared from the onslaught.

Christian De Nale, the District Manager of Carrefour, said,

"Carrefour takes the lead in engaging itself in eco-friendly activities. Going by the sheer volume of waste that we collected, we know our concerns have been well placed. We hope that more organisations will take up this initiative to preserve the environment. We also appeal to the residents to be more aware of the damaging consequences of littering the beaches of Qatar and its long term impact on the ecological balance."

Recently, in a push to reduce the millions of plastic bags that pollute the Qatar's ecosystem every year, Carrefour introduced reusable bags at their checkout counters as an alternative to plastic bags. By using the bag 4 times, users will be reducing the usage of plastic bags by 18 per cent there by leading to a reduction in the emission of greenhouse effect gases by 20%.

The Emirates Diving Association (EDA) is the non-profit umbrella organization of all dive businesses, dive clubs, instructors and certified recreational divers in the United Arab Emirates. EDA is committed to conserving, protecting and restoring the U.A.E. marine resources through understanding and promoting the marine environment and environmental diving.