To reduce its environmental impact, the UAE limits the use of "plastic bags"

The UAE continues its integrated efforts at the federal and local levels to address the phenomenon of excessive consumption of plastic bags in the daily lives of community members and reduce their harmful effects on the environment and other living creatures.

Statistics indicate that the rate of consumption of plastic bags in the UAE exceeded 11 billion annually in 2011, equivalent to 1184 plastic bags per capita.

The initiatives and measures implemented by the UAE in order to reduce the consumption of plastic bags focus on raising public awareness of all segments of society about the importance of sustainable consumption of this type of product, and the application of circular economy systems in dealing with this waste through its treatment and recycling.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is leading efforts to reduce consumption of plastic bags at the federal level. In 2009, it launched the “The Emirates Free of Plastic Bags” initiative for a period of 3 continuous years, with the aim of gradually reducing the production and use of plastic bags and non-biodegradable plastic products, and to ensure the preservation of resources. natural environment and to achieve environmental security in the country.

The Ministry has organized the circulation of biodegradable plastic bags and biodegradable plastic products, as printing on non-biodegradable plastic bags has been banned by Cabinet Resolution No. 376/5 of 2009.

A mandatory standard specification for the United Arab Emirates No. 500/2009 was approved regarding the characteristics of plastic bags and other biodegradable plastic products by issuing Cabinet Resolution No. 40 of 2009, and the amendment of this regulation was approved to include other plastic products and subjected to the provisions of the regulation in 2012, " 15 plastic products.

With the aim of accelerating the transition to biodegradable bags, Ministerial Resolution No. 451 of 2011 was issued obligating plastic bag manufacturers and plastic bag suppliers to register biodegradable bag products. The UAE Certificate of Conformity.

Plastic bag manufacturers and plastic bag suppliers have also been obligated to register biodegradable plastic bags and prevent the marketing and circulation of non-biodegradable plastic bags starting from 2012 AD by issuing a ministerial decision in this regard. 2013.

At the local level, in March 2020, the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi launched a policy to gradually reduce the consumption of single-use plastic materials, to ban the use of single-use plastic bags and replace them with multi-use bags, and impose fees on other plastic materials with alternatives.

The policy was prepared in cooperation with 12 government agencies and the Emirates Nature Association and in partnership with the private sector, reinforced by a public opinion poll that included 2,700 people in partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. The policy was based on international best practices with measures that address challenges in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The policy establishes a system for the return of plastic bottles to be circulated to retail outlets to ensure a change in behavior towards relying on multi-use materials instead of shifting consumption from plastic materials to non-plastic single-use materials.

In Dubai, the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai has approved the "policy to limit single-use bags", which includes imposing a tariff of 25 fils on bags for transporting single-use goods only. According to the approved policy, a comprehensive awareness campaign will be launched for members of society and the private sector with the aim of preserving environmental sustainability, and changing Excessive use of plastics.

The imposition of tariffs on the use of single-use merchandise bags starts from July 1, 2022 in all stores in Dubai as a first stage, including retail stores, textile and electronic stores, restaurants, pharmacies, delivery orders and e-commerce orders.

The experiment will be evaluated in stages until the use of these bags is completely prohibited within two years of application, and changes in the behavior of community members will be studied, as sustainability has now become an imperative at the global level, reinforced by changing the behaviors of society, which reduces the environmental footprint of individuals and supports opportunities Preserving natural resources and environmental habitats, reducing negative impacts resulting from wrong practices, and contributing to ensuring the environmental health required to maintain the quality of life.

Dubai’s move comes in line with the global trend in adopting sustainable alternatives to reduce the consumption of single-use bags, as the tariff is already applied in more than 30 countries, and a partial or complete ban has been imposed on it in more than 90 countries, which reflects international efforts to reduce the use of those bags. that poses a clear threat to the environment and its future.

In turn, the Ras Al Khaimah Environmental Protection and Development Authority approved the implementation of the "Ras Al Khaimah Plastic Free" initiative on the bakery and supermarket sectors, which includes 4 stages until September 2021 to reduce the use of plastic bags in the two targeted sectors by 100 percent.

The initiative witnessed intensive awareness campaigns through various social media, introducing the initiative and the dangers of non-biodegradable plastic, and educating the community about alternatives.

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