Children lead the way in Recycling
Pupils at 10 schools in Al Ain are recycling1 50,000 plastic water bottles every month.
Students use a machine to shrink2 the bottles to a tenth of their size. We hope that one in
every four schools will soon be involved in the recycling scheme3, said Mr. Beg, the
general manager of Al Ain Mineral Water Company.
Plastic bottles are easy to recycle, but usually they are buried4
in landfills5.
Plastic takes hundreds of years to
decompose6. The bottles are made of
PET plastic. The UAE uses around 80,000
tonnes of PET every year. It is one of the biggest PET users in the
world. One tonne of PET is enough to manufacture7 40,000 bottles,
he said.
The Al Ain Mineral Water Company produces8 13 million units – bottles of
different sizes and the caps to seal them. “PET recycling is an issue in the
UAE and we are a leading producer9 of PET bottles. That is why our
company chose to launch10 the recycling program” said Mr Beg.
“The children are shrinking between 40,000 and 50,000 bottles per month,”
he said. “The kids are fantastic ambassadors11 for recycling. Our plan is to
recycle almost all of the PET bottles produced in this country.”
recycling = to collect and process items to use them again eg. Paper, plastic, metals
= to reduce in size, from big to small
3 scheme = program,
4 buried = in the ground, covered in soil, dug into the ground
5 landfill = rubbish dump
6 decompose = to break down into smaller pieces, cycle of nature using microorganisms
7 manufacture = to make, to produce
8 produces = makes, manufactures
9 leading producer = main company making a product, winning in production ‘race’
10 launch = when something is first presented to the community, a new product or idea is ‘launched’
11ambassadors = representatives, on behalf of….
1
2 shrink
The Al Ain Water Company’s Recycling Scheme involves several steps.
1. On your own, number the events to put them in the correct order. Compare with partner and adjust.
The PET Bottle Recycling Scheme with Al Ain Mineral Water Company
Step
Number
Steps in the Process…..
Students drink bottled water.
The plastic bottles have been RECYCLED and the materials used again.
A team of students ‘shrinks’ the empty bottles each day.
At the factory, the bottles are melted with heat.
The bottles are shrunk to one tenth of their normal size.
The company truck picks up bottles from 10 schools in Al Ain.
Students are told to put their empty water bottles in a special area of the school.
An Al Ain Water company truck collects the shrunken bottles.
The melted plastic is made into NEW plastic products, including water bottles.
The bottles are taken to a plastic recycling factory.
2. Read the list of advantages of the Al Ain recycling program.
As a group, rank them from MOST to LEAST important. (1 = most important)
Advantages of Recycling
Ranking
Reason for No.1 Ranking
Reduces landfill
More efficient use of raw materials
Less materials need to be produced
Students feel they are helping to save the environment.
Costs reduced – don’t need to buy new plastic for
bottles
Greenhouse gases reduced.
Al Ain Water Company becomes famous for being
environmentally friendly.
Litter is reduced – bottles collected, not tossed away
3. Which advantage does your group thinks is the most important?
You must reach agreement and then explain to the class WHY your group decided on this advantage.
CHALLENGE/EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

Make a cartoon or flowchart that illustrates the main steps in the recycling process.

Long Response to the Question: How does recycling affect the UAE environment?