Dubai beaches to remain cleaner

Hassan Makki, Assistant Director of Environment Department and Head of Waste Services Section at the municipality, said the municipality took delivery of the machines last week in a bid to keep the city's beaches cleaner and safer.

"The delivery of these machines is timely as beaches are now increasingly being frequented by tourists visiting the Emirate. Beach cleaning machines are used to remove debris and litter from public beaches in the Emirate. The machines are basically mechanical raking devices which are towed by tractor and capable of removing even small litter such as cigarette butts," he said.

Mechanical cleaning of beaches is a fast, and effective method of removing litter and debris from beaches. Large areas can be covered in a relatively short time using beach cleaning machines, thus providing and effective and economical alternative to manual cleaning of beaches. All public beaches are subject to a cleaning service. The frequency of cleaning depends on factor such as the usage of the beach and the incidence of litter and debris.

"The new machines will be put into service shortly once operator training is completed and service schedules are drawn up. They are vastly improved over earlier models and incorporate advanced features" said Makki.

"Besides having larger hopper volumes, they are also faster in operation with a wider reach so that large areas can be covered easily" he added. Unlike conventional machines which employ only "raking" to remove litter, these machines also have an additional screening capability. They can also be operated in dual (raking + screening) mode thereby delivering superior cleaning.

Makki also emphasized that the purchase of these machines comes as part of the larger quest to improve the quality of cleaning and waste collection services in the Emirate.

"With changed conditions such as rapid urban development and rising numbers of visitors to the Emirate, the Department is upgrading services through a co-ordinated approach addressing all steps in the service delivery chain" he said.

These measures include improved equipment specifications to incorporate new technologies and increase productivities and advanced training for drivers and operators. In recent years the Department has also co-ordinated with suppliers to incorporate custom features into some categories of vehicles and equipment and has endeavoured to purchase versatile machines which have a wider service range. The Department operates a very large and specialized fleet of over 350 vehicles and machines. The fleet includes Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCVs) and machines required for street cleaning such as Vacuum Assisted Sweepers. There are also exclusive tankers for washing refuse bins and even one to remove tenacious dirt such as chewing gum stains and graffiti from surfaces and pavements.