The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) announced on Friday a new phase of collaboration under the Abu Dhabi Waste Management Strategy, bringing together field clean-up work and systematic data analysis to sharpen how the emirate tackles waste across land, coast, and sea.
For Abu Dhabi residents, the initiative signals a shift in how environmental clean-ups are run. Rather than one-off clean-up days, the two entities are building a repeatable model that pairs physical clean-up operations with structured data collection, so that decisions about where and how to act are grounded in evidence rather than guesswork.
What has been done so far
Four clean-up campaigns have already been carried out at selected sites. Beyond these, EAD and DMT are planning two specialized marine operations this year, alongside continued land-based and coastal clean-up efforts.
Delivering this work depends on a set of strategic partners. Tadweer Group handles waste collection, sorting, and transport to treatment facilities and disposal sites. The Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club carries out the marine operations to specialized professional standards, and diving associations are also involved as partners in the effort.
How the data is collected
At the centre of the initiative is the Sahim: Citizen Science program, which is used to gather and analyze data on the types and quantities of waste found during clean-up operations. The methodology involves classifying waste, weighing it, and documenting findings within a structured field database.
