Abu Dhabi Mobility exchanges plastic bottles for bus trips

Iranpolymer/Baspar Abu Dhabi Mobility, a government-owned transportation company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), allows its customers to take the bus for free as a reward for recycling their plastic bottles.

The incentive-based plastic bottle recycling initiative that was launched in 2022 and has proved popular with bus users. To meet demand, Abu Dhabi Mobility has now installed for more bottle recycling units in the cities of Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

Users can deposit empty plastic bottles into devices installed in the main bus stations and earn points for each bottle deposited. A small-sized bottle of 600 ml or less equals 1 point, while a large-sized bottle exceeding 600 ml equals 2 points. Every point is worth AED 10 fils, with 10 points equivalent to AED 1 (€0.25). A bus journey costs AED 2 plus 5 fils for each kilometre.

Points are collected digitally through the Cycled Rewards app. These points are then converted into credit on a Hafilat personal card, enabling users to pay for their bus fares through the automated payment system available on public buses.

This project is part of the ongoing initiative carried out in collaboration with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Cycled Technologies, a company specialising in manufacturing and deploying smart recycling stations and reverse vending machines (RVM) in the UAE.

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