RSA is one of the world’s leading multinational quoted insurance groups, and has been involved in the past in encouraging staff members to be conscientiously aware of the environment, with initiatives such as switching off laptops and computers and turning off the printer and lights after use. This partnership with Recycling for Charity will help RSA to take simple steps to reuse, reduce and recycle paper, which will not only improve the company’s environmental record but will also improve the bottom line and help in enhancing the overall efficiency of the business. 

Everyone should incorporate environmental thinking into their professional lives by doing simple things like saving paper by only printing what you really need, printing double sided so less paper is wasted, re-using scrap paper for notes and editing documents on the computer rather than printing hard copies.

Quote from RSA spokesperson 
Recycling for Charity has provided custom-made internationally approved recycling containers for RSA Bahrain where recyclable paper can be deposited. These will be emptied regularly and transported to the recycling factory in Sitra. For every tonne collected Recycling for Charity will donate to local charity organisations.

Mr. Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity, said, “Recycling is an important step forward for companies who aspire to become environmentally-friendly as a move towards creating a sustainable society and healing the damage caused by the overuse of perishable resources.”
Paper is one of the easiest materials to recycle which also has many environmental benefits. Recycling a tonne of paper can save around 7 trees, approximately 30,000 to 60,000 litres of water, 40% of energy and 95% of air pollution.

The partnership will involve installation of internationally approved recycling banks at various areas which will enable residents to segregate their recyclable waste and bring their plastic bottles, cans, paper and glass to the bank which will be emptied regularly and transported to the recycling factory in Sitra.

At a signing ceremony held at the offices of Northern Municipality at Budaiya Mr. Abdulkarim Hassan, Director General, Northern Municipality said, “The environmentally friendly initiative is part of our ongoing Erteqaa campaign to make the community more socially aware and responsible of their surroundings.  Recycling for Charity will help us to spread this message across the local communities and work towards a healthier environment for future generations.”

Mr. Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity said, “Our agreement with the Municipality will allow us to establish a continuous dialogue with the local community and highlight the importance of sorting and recycling waste.

Almost every locality has shopping areas, schools, parks, and other public locations where recyclables such as plastic/glass bottles, newspapers and other materials are discarded into general trash bins instead of being segregated for recycling. To make recycling an integral part of our daily lifestyle, we will synchronise our initiatives with that of the Municipal Council to provide citizens with the tools needed to handle recyclable waste in a more productive manner.”

The effort has been launched to coincide with World Environment Day which will be celebrated on June 5, 2009.

“We are proud to set a benchmark in Bahrain’s hospitality industry by engaging in effective measures to reduce our environmental impact. We already have an ongoing ‘Green Engage’ programme followed by many properties in InterContinental Hotels Group to help improve environmental performance, reduce costs and respond to our guests increasing awareness of this issue,” said Mr. Ivor E Prestwood, General Manager, Crowne Plaza.

Environmental sustainability is a priority for the Crowne Plaza Bahrain. Currently, the Hotel produces seven tonnes of waste that is collected on a weekly basis. The aim is to reduce below two tonnes of waste every week through recycling. The programme in collaboration with Recycling for Charity will commence with the installation of a recycling bank and an internal awareness campaign that will be executed throughout the Hotel – bars and restaurants, banquet halls, Kitchen, guest rooms, housekeeping and management offices.

Mr. Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity, said “We are delighted to be a part of Crowne Plaza Bahrain’s ongoing CSR campaign to make their contribution in saving the environment and demonstrate good recycling habits. We do hope with Crowne Plaza Bahrain coming on board and incorporating elements of sustainability into their day-to-day operations, other hotels will follow their lead and be inspired to make the choice as well.

Recycling for Charity has developed custom-made internationally approved recycling containers for the Crowne Plaza  Bahrain to help them to effectively conserve resources by recycling.

The Crowne Plaza Bahrain has in the past been involved in implementing environmentally responsible practices and procedures such as educational programmes for their staff on the importance of recycling to encourage people to give waste paper to the Housekeeping department. This included collecting and recycling around 300 telephone directories and magazines from all the rooms in the hotel to save around 30 trees per year.

The ‘Green Room programme’ has also been a part of the Hotel’s ongoing recycling drive to minimise the amount of linen loads going to the laundry for washing, ironing, drying, and folding on a daily basis, which drastically helps reduce the energy and the chemicals that are used. Guests are given a ‘green option’ that they can consider during their stay at the Hotel.

“Recycling is a key component in maintaining or improving the local environment. Not only does recycling make good economic sense, but it also demonstrates a sense of good ethics to the guests and the community,” concluded Mr. Ivor E Prestwood, General Manager, Crowne Plaza.

“Recycling has to be made a part of our daily lifestyle, as whatever we do today will impact our future tomorrow. At Recycling for Charity, we want to help promote ways of saving the environment which not only educates the children but encourages them to spread the importance of recycling to their families at home,” said Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity. “The initiative will help to bring awareness that we all can do something to help the environment by focussing on the three R’s i.e. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”

This educational programme for schools helps highlight the importance of reducing the amount of unnecessary items we use at school or home which increase carbon footprints. Eg. Buy only what you need to help reduce unnecessary waste; buy products that can be reused and recycle by separating paper and cardboard waste from plastics and cans and throw them away in appropriately labelled bins. This allows students to recycle material that they use in schools which would normally be discarded.

Recycling for Charity seeks to actively engage with schools and offer them support in their ongoing recycling initiatives to encourage kids to actively recycle. The company teamed up with Al Raja School for the school play “Make a Difference – Help Change our World” to stress the importance of saving energy and why recycling is necessary. The Schools will benefit from the educational programmes that Recycling for Charity will be devising to reiterate the recycling message amongst kids in a fun and interactive manner.

The recycling banks located in the car parks of various schools require students, parents and teachers to bring their plastic bottles, cans, paper and glass to the bank, so that the items can be recycled. The bins will be emptied regularly and the recycling items will be transported to Recycling for Charity’s factory in Sitra where the items will be recycled for use both here in the Kingdom and overseas.

Schools that want to team up with Recycling for Charity can apply via the website www.recycling-for-charity.com for containers free of charge.

‘Make a difference – Help change our world’ is a comedy musical adventure which takes place in Garbage Grove in which the trash residents are introduced to learning the basic 3R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle and moving on to discover innovative usage of paper, aluminium, glass, plastic and more.

Sir Mortimer Mouse is the central character of the show who is instrumental in helping trash residents to actively recycle. Some of the other characters in the play include Susie the Soda Pop bottle, Cedric the Cereal box, Polly the Plastic Milk jug and Creamo the Cream Soda can.

Recycling for Charity is happy to team up with Al Raja School in this initiative to educate youngsters from an early age on the importance of recycling with real-life situations that they can relate to.

The play opens Sunday, March 22, 2009 at 10 am, school auditorium with a repeat performance on Monday, March 23, 2009 at 4:30 pm. For ticket information, please contact Maria Rozario at 17245309.

“We are asking people to vote for Earth with their light switch and embrace the power to help the environment,” commented Boris Uhlig, CEO of Recycling for Charity. “Something as simple as a candle light dinner with family or friends or looking at the stars makes a bold statement that one person committed to reducing energy consumption can make a difference, but millions working together can change the world.”

“We at PwC believe that there is no value in preaching to others unless you practice yourself” comments Ozlem Erbas, Consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Around the globe the people of PwC are committed to playing a leading role in achieving a sustainable future: We take responsibility for our actions and promote responsible business practices; support the growth and development of our people and communities; and seek to minimise our impact on the environment.”

Alongside the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building, Bahrain stands proud as its largest and smallest conglomerates will rise to the occasion by lighting up candles and turning off the electricity in support of reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the short and long term benefit of the planet.

Martin Whitaker, CEO of Bahrain International Circuit commented “As the first circuit in the world to go green we are delighted to see many more establishments follow suit to enhance the Kingdom’s commitment towards the environment and community.”

With iconic landmarks like the Bahrain International Circuit and the Bahrain World Trade Centre turning off their lights and the Ritz Carlton hosting a Bahrain German-Friendship Society candle light dinner for the occasion, Bahrain proves to be well involved in keeping our Earth alive for generations to come.

Two years ago, Earth hour was launched in an effort to send a powerful global message that from individuals to conglomerates we have the power to make a positive impact on our environment. Today, billion of cities, towns, landmarks and homes stand united in support of making a difference in climate change.

Recycling for Charity used this prestigious equestrian event as a platform to increase awareness about the benefits of recycling to provide a healthy environment for future generations and encouraging racing fans to actively recycle the waste in bins placed around the track. This was the first time ever that a recycling station was placed at a large public event to help people understand recycling and how it can benefit everyone, the country and the planet.

Mr. Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity said, “We received an overwhelming response at the event with everyone from jockeys to kids to racing fans bringing plastic bottles, cans and paper to the recycling station as their contribution to save the energy and conserve the environment. Encouraging recycling at large-scale events is not only good for the environment but also reduces disposable costs. We will be participating in many more public events across the Kingdom in the coming months.”

The excitement continued with a raffle draw organized during the day that handed out cash prizes worth BD 50 to six lucky winners, receiving an overwhelming response from the audience. As some of the winners were not present to collect their cash prizes, Recycling for Charity will be donating BD 200 to a charitable organization.

The Organization sponsored two Recycling for Charity Cup’s for the second and third race (in a series of six racing events) which was awarded by Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity to Wellington (Al Montasir, A Smith, Hassan Al Saffar) and Act Waif (Fawzi Abdulla Nass, Fawzi Nass, Eddie Ahem). There was even additional cash prizes of BD 1000 and BD 2000 respectively which were given away to the winners.

Recycling for Charity is a Bahrain-based organisation providing specially approved containers to communities and organisations where recyclable resources can be deposited. These will be emptied regularly and Recycling for Charity will process the waste and finally sell it to the local and world market. For every tonne collected Recycling for Charity will donate to local charity organisations.

The recycling bank is located in the car park of Alosra and residents of Bahrain are urged to bring their plastic bottles, cans, paper and glass to the bank so the items can be recycled. The bins will be emptied regularly and the recycling items will be transported to Recycling for Charity’s factory in Sitra where the items will be recycled for use both here in the Kingdom and overseas.

The recycling bank is the first local site but many more will follow. It is the aim of the Municipalities to have recycling stations in all Governorates in order to make it easy for everyone in Bahrain to recycle.

“Recycling it vital to the future of Bahrain and the timing of the recycling bank opening fits in with the recent launch of the Love Bahrain Litter Free Campaign. We are all working together to keep the Kingdom clean and to ensure that the country offers a healthy environment for future generations,” explained a municipalities’ spokesperson.

In Bahrain nearly 3,500 tonnes of waste are disposed of daily which equates to 1.3 million tonnes a year.  Approximately 25 per cent of this waste is paper and at least 50 per cent can be recycled directly.  If this waste is recycled it will save a huge amount of Bahrain’s rubbish ending up in a land fill, thereby allowing the land fill to last longer.

Mr Tariq Mohammed Al Amin, General Manager of Sphinx Cleaning Services and one of the founder members of the ‘Love Bahrain Litter Free’ campaign alongside Gulf City Cleaning Services, welcomed the move to introduce the recycling station saying, “We are very pleased to see this very important initiative take place, which co-incides with our own campaign to create awareness for everyone about taking personal responsibility for the disposal of their own rubbish.  This is the first of many opportunities in which we can work together with Recycle for Charity and we look forward to many more events which will help to minimize the issues face in effective waste management in Bahrain.”

“At Recycling for Charity, we welcome the support of the Ministry and the ‘Love Bahrain Litter Free’ campaign as we launch our first recycling bank in the Northern Governorate. This is just the start of our vision to improve the environment of Bahrain,” said Boris Uhlig, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling for Charity. “Recycling is an excellent way to save energy and conserve the environment and it is our aim to help people to understand recycling and how it can benefit each and every one of us, the country and the planet.”

This recycling bank is the first of an ongoing recycling programme and many more recycling stations will be opening across the Kingdom in the coming months.