#OmanPride: Oman sees 'good response' to be’ah’s recycling campaign

More sports Tuesday 07/June/2016 21:26 PM
By: Times News Service
#OmanPride: Oman sees 'good response' to be’ah’s recycling campaign

Muscat: Omanis are bombarding social media with creative ideas for reusing old automobile tyres.
Following a campaign by be’ah to raise awareness about recycling used materials, such as plastic bottles and car tyres, many twitter users have posted images of tyre planters and decorations they made using recycled items.
Amin Al Kindi, who participated in the campaign, made his own mini garden using recycled tyres, while Saeed, an Omani twitter user, displayed his homemade water dispenser.
In Oman, tyres cannot be recycled for use on cars, according to the law. Also, tyres that have expired, even though never used, are banned from being sold.
The Public Authority for Consumer Protection has also prohibited the sale, marketing, display and distribution of tyres that have not been used, but were manufactured 24 months earlier.
Mariam Al Balushi, an official at be’ah, said the response to the campaign, which was kicked off on May 27, has been very promising.
“Dawhat Al Adab school has also shared pictures of creative ways to reuse tyres inside schools,” Al Balushi added.
She noted that expired tyres are one of the major problems facing the environment in Oman, as they easily catch fire,and are difficult to extinguish, and their smoke carries toxic chemicals.
Al Balushi added that tyre dumps too often become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, as rain water is easily collected there.
“Tyres are made of rubber, a biodegradable material, and they need huge land areas to be dumped,” she explained.
“We are planning to raise awareness about the issue in local shopping malls and other public places,” Al Balushi added.
She further said that be’ah has plans to work in coordination with small and medium enterprises to make better use of discarded tyres.
However, she said that recycling tyres is very costly and stands as an economic and environmental challenge.