The decision excludes 8 types... and the application is the first of July 

Dubai Municipality: The 25 fils tariff for store bags includes “single-use”

Dubai Municipality confirmed that the decision to impose a tariff of 25 fils on bags used in stores, to be implemented on the first of next July, includes all single-use bags, not just plastic, while the municipality identified eight types of bags that are excluded from the decision, in implementation of the policy announced by the Executive Council of the Emirate Dubai.

The municipality explained to "Emirates Today" that the tariff will apply to all single-use bags used to transport goods at the point of purchase, and includes all bags with a thickness of less than 57 micrometers and made of plastic, paper, biodegradable plastic and biodegradable plant materials.

She pointed out that there are many alternatives to single-use bags, depending on the thickness and the material they are made of, as the decision did not specify any alternatives that should be provided at the present time, and there is no mandatory tariff on alternatives, but the merchant has the right to specify a symbolic tariff for the sustainable alternatives provided. in the store, provided that the consumer is not obligated to purchase it.

Regarding the products excluded from the decision, the municipality stated that there are eight types of products outside the decision, including “bags with a thickness of more than 57 micrometers, bags of medicines from pharmacies, roller bags for vegetables, fruits, meat and fish, bread bags, wheat bags, and trash bags of all sizes, electronic tool bags, and laundry bags.

Regarding the stages of implementing the decision, the municipality stated that the tariff will be applied starting from the first of next July, and as for the ban, the specifications of the bags targeted by the ban will be issued during the year 2023, with the implementation of the ban in the middle of 2024.

She stressed that the implementation of the decision will be subject to supervision from the first day of implementation, so that a team of inspectors will monitor the stores, and the store manager must keep the bag specifications card from the factory (including the thickness of the bag and manufacturing materials) inside the store and if the used bag matches the specifications of the bag with For a single use, the store must apply a tariff of 25 fils to the bag, and in the absence of application, the inspector may violate the store.

A major source of suspended litter

Dubai Municipality reported that single-use goods bags made of non-degradable materials, such as plastic, are a major source of suspended garbage and pollution in our environment, as these bags do not decompose until after a very long period of time, and are only used once, or twice. At most before disposal, and most of them are used only once, to transport goods from the store to the home, for example, single-use bags take 400 years to decompose and thousands of years to reduce their negative effects.

A study from a local authority revealed that about 86% of the sea turtles that were found dead on the beaches of some emirates in the country had consumed plastic materials, thinking that they were jellyfish.

These bags may also cause blockage of the digestive tracts, and the death of some animals, such as camels, goats and deer. A study from the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi found that 50% of the dead camels had consumed plastic materials.

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