Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — “We believe that we can bring about social change to create a litter-free environment that can enhance the nurture of a healthy generation,” this was what Captain Essam Jawa said when while talking about his “Team Up to Clean Up” initiative.

Jawa, the founder of the initiative, said their focus was to clean some of the city's districts and streets. He explained that the initiative, which was started by a small group of friends and family members less than a month ago, has today grown to around 90 people and the number is rapidly increasing.

The group has been carrying out cleanup work during the holy month of Ramadan from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and after Ramadan they would do it three days a week for as long as it takes.

He said: “It all started sometime ago when my family and I used to go jogging and walking in Al-Basateen district located south of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal's Palace. It was quite a clean place where we enjoyed our regular sporting activities. Gradually the place became dirty and full of garbage. So we decided with the help of our friends to clean up the area and revive its beauty.”

Jawa said their work includes raising awareness among the public about littering and its effects on people's lives and the environment. They organize volunteers and environmental enthusiasts in every district to lead the cleaning campaign and expand the activity throughout Jeddah city.

“We will clean public areas and populated spots where members of society shop or hold their usual leisure activities to better expose our initiative to the masses, gain public support and enlarge our membership base. Having started as a cleanup program a few weeks ago, we took it a step further to sort the trash collected on site so that we can recycle it by partnering with potential recycling plants. We also have plans to reuse plastic and glass bottles for multiple purposes such as decoration and storage,” he said.

Supporting the municipality and taking responsibility is among the group's goals.

“Nothing makes us happier than giving back to the municipality to support its work to restore our natural right to a healthy environment. It is time all of us take responsibility for our actions and rethink our behaviors when our faith — Islam — teaches us to be clean and avoid wasting resources. And to say that we don't know about the principle of three Rs (Reducing, Reusing, Recycling) is absurd. We do know, but most of us need a push and we aim to keep the wheel turning toward a more sustainable learning experience by taking action, inspiring, and hopefully setting an example,” Jawa said.

When asked about the goals of the initiative, he answered, “Well, we look inward and live up to our values and day by day our performance will dramatically determine our future.

Our goal is to educate the young generation by taking quick action to reflect that littering is not acceptable anymore and it has to come to a halt.

We need to take more responsibility toward our city and our planet.”

When asked about the benefits and challenges of the initiative, Jawa explained that the gist of the idea is to make a person start thinking about how he or she can spread the awareness about the hazardous effects of plastic bags and water bottles (PET) on the humans and the environment.

“Marine pollution today is composed of 80 percent plastic waste. And it is speculated that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. A bizarre phenomenon that is directly threatening us is the possibility of plastic breaking down to micro plastics that we ingest when we eat seafood and drink conventional water. As a result, a number of diseases could arise putting our health in serious jeopardy,” Jawa said.