An aluminium can collection drive was held across the country on Saturday aimed at benefiting the environment and reducing the costs of landfill and production of new cans. Some 20.5 tonnes of cans were collected and sent for recycling as part of the annual Can Collection Drive organised by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG). The drive took place simultaneously in all seven emirates and saw the active participation of 340 educational institutions, public and private organisations, plus individuals. Gulf News has reported the UAE economy is losing Dh1.5 billion every year due to inadequate recycling of waste, according to the Centre of Waste Management in Abu Dhabi (CWM). The emirate of Abu Dhabi alone has lost 1,800 hectares of land to landfills so far as it generates 4.75 million tonnes of waste annually, or 13,000 tonnes a day. \"By recycling aluminium we can save our precious natural resources because it needs two tonnes of bauxite to produce one tonne of aluminium,\" Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of EEG and board member of the UN Global Compact told Gulf News yesterday. \"But a tonne of aluminium can be recycled from a tonne of aluminium cans without losing a single ounce.\" Recycling saves 95 per cent of the energy used for aluminium production, Habiba added, explaining that recycling needs just five per cent of the energy used for aluminium production. The cans were taken to Lucky Recycling and Sharif International Metals. From : Gulf News