Garbage Collection Drive

[Denizzalbayrak]

Al Qudra, Pink Rock, Fossil Rock... after attending multiple drives in these common areas, I've realized how disrespectfully people are treating to desert. Reckless people leaving their garbage on desert...

I remember seeing a garbage collection drive organized by Carnity on Youtube or on a thread. So how about we organize a garbage collection drive again? Since the number of members significant now. We can do a great cleaning. Multiple convoys with 4-5 cars to maximize cleaning area. We can even do this as a repeating event maybe in every month...I don't know if summer is suitable for this though... What do you guys think?   

[Frederic]

Love your idea and have done this with the kids behind our community in Al Qudra a few times. 
With the current restrictions it might be more difficult but not impossible.

[Rahimdad]

It's great to see someone make an effort and go through old threads and videos to see our achievements. With the current heat I will not suggest it, however in college months we can have a desert clean up drive. One thing I have realized over time, people are not respectful and you can have a clean up drive every week and the following week you will find the same amount of garbage lying around.

In my opinion an educational mindset would be more helpful. So having our facts right and approach anyone throwing anything out of the car and educating them about the cleanliness being a safety requirement for the animals and insect living in the desert.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the ladies in @Ale Vallecchi car jumping out every time we had a stuck and picking up the garbage people had thrown away. Surely there must be several ways we can tackle this issue, and any ideas to educate the less respectful will be appreciated.

[Ale Vallecchi]

7 minutes ago, Rahimdad said:

It's great to see someone make an effort and go through old threads and videos to see our achievements. With the current heat I will not suggest it, however in college months we can have a desert clean up drive. One thing I have realized over time, people are not respectful and you can have a clean up drive every week and the following week you will find the same amount of garbage lying around.

In my opinion an educational mindset would be more helpful. So having our facts right and approach anyone throwing anything out of the car and educating them about the cleanliness being a safety requirement for the animals and insect living in the desert.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the ladies in @Ale Vallecchi car jumping out every time we had a stuck and picking up the garbage people had thrown away. Surely there must be several ways we can tackle this issue, and any ideas to educate the less respectful will be appreciated.

Rahim Bhai you are totally right. You should have seen the amount of debris sticking out of the sand at Iftar Bowl and Super Bowl, even weeks after people had been there. Perhaps all we need is to always bring a plastic bag in each car, and collect whatever we find on the way. Unfortunatelly I am sure that even if we went to Iftar Bowl now, in the next couple of weeks garbage would be everywhere, again. 

[Barry]

I remember going on the last cleanup drive. It broke my heart seeing the way people just drop their shit everywhere but the highlight for me was finding so many bullets. 

It’s sad to say but you can clean and clean and clean and the assholes will always come along and litter again. All you can do is keep doing it and hope to inspire people to change their ways. If you’re planning to organise something again, count me in. 

[desertdude]

Last clean up drive I went to I almost got arrested by Omani border patrol. 

Needless to say that was the last kachra drive I attended.

[Barry]

49 minutes ago, desertdude said:

Last clean up drive I went to I almost got arrested by Omani border patrol. 

Needless to say that was the last kachra drive I attended.

You can’t start a story and not finish it 

[desertdude]

48 minutes ago, Barry said:

You can’t start a story and not finish it 

I've already told this take here I think a few times already.

Anyways it was a Dubai Govt sponsored clean up drive and they asked all the tour company's to volunteer staff. 

Since at that time I was at the bottom of the totem pole they sent me along with a helper.

The reception and presentation was at Hatta Fort Hotel after all the media fanfare and blah blah we were given event T shirts with the Dubai Govt logo clearly in the front. Since I hate the wadis in Hatta I weaseled my way to the road clean up crew. 

There was a British lady in charge of the whole affair and I specifically asked here have you talked to the Omani side and she said it's all good it's all been taken care off.

So from Hatta Fort Hotel I turned towards the border maybe a km at the most I stopped on the side and we got down and must have collected less than a half a garbage bag. 

An Omani Border Police Cruiser pickup rocks ups and with a real mean look on his face asks me what are we doing ( mind you I was also in our company green and white much more meaner looking LC pickup ) 

I told him Im picking up trash. He said who told you to. With whose permission are you picking up trash here.

I pointed to the Dubai Govt logo on my shirt and said with their permission. 

He came close and read what it said. Anyways you are not allowed to pick up any trash here you can be arrested for doing so, so make yourself scarce.

In no real mood to be picking up trash in the hot sun. I said fine. Got up in the pick up and left back towards the hotel.

There the Brit lady was still roaming around outside I caught here and told her the story and gave her some crap that you almost got  me arrested. You told me you have arranged and coordinated everything blah blah blah. 

She was visibly upset at this incident and immediately started calling people on her phone. 

I just retired to the nice cool gazebo with the buffet set up and spent my day chillaxing eating and sipping 

While I saw my colleagues from the other conpanies come at regular intervals and pile up the trash they had collected and we're surprised and jealous to see me chilling before going back into the Wadi to collect more

By lunch time they were told to stop get together take some pics for the local media in front of the trash pile and have a five star lunch as a reward. We all were given some cheap printed out certificates and everything for being part of it.

And that was my last official kachra/trash drive ever.

[Barry]

If anyone can testify about brits being awkward, I can. I’m irish, they have been causing trouble for us for 800 years. I can tell you many stories where I have been put in jail for nothing other than being irish. Fk em. Live life. We are all here trying to live a good life and do good things and help our fellow man. Let’s smash colonialism.