Abu Dhabi has embarked on a new effort that they intend to accomplish by the end of 2022. The globe is always fighting against plastic waste. Hence the UAE’s capital will prohibit single-use plastic bags from 1st June 2022. The harmful debris in the water is the reason. Per some estimates, the UAE consumes 11 billion plastic bags each year. It is more than a thousand per person and almost three times the worldwide average.
The Goal Is To Eliminate All Single-Use Plastics In The Near Future
And, contrary to what the 90s bubblegum pop band Aqua would have us think, life in plastic isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Not the single-use things, at least. “Virtually every piece of plastic that was ever created still exists in some shape or form,” says Earthday.org’s plastic fact page.
Carrefour, Spinneys, and Lulu, are preparing to adopt this by offering sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. Other major stores in the UAE are also looking up to bring in this initiative. Customers can bring their own reusable bags, or bags with the least environmental impact.
Carrefour will provide starch-based plant-based bags to replace plastic at its checkout counters. From June 1, Carrefour stores in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain will sell the new starch bags for 25 fils.
In line with efforts to reduce pollution and promote sustainability #inAbuDhabi, @EADTweets is banning single-use plastic bags, effective 1 June 2022. Future measures will aim to further limit the consumption of single-use plastics products in the emirate. pic.twitter.com/amizqwSz5L
— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) April 6, 2022
Also Read: World Earth Day 2021: 6 Ways To Go Plastic Free While Travelling
It’s all there, moving in our ecosystems and marinating in our seas. It might also pose serious health risks to us.
Pandemic After-Effect On This Cause
The Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD) stated in March 2020 that all plastic bags would be banned by the end of 2021. “EAD and the Abu Dhabi government established the Abu Dhabi Single-Use Plastic Policy back in 2020. It was the night of the COVID-19 breakout,” Sheikha Al Mazrouei adds. Many policy tools, such as enacting rules targeting specific single-use plastic goods, were hampered and delayed by the epidemic.”
‘The ban on single-use plastics in Abu Dhabi would come to force soon.’
Earlier this week, #AbuDhabi‘s environment agency (@EADTweets) has outlined how the UAE capital will look when #SingleUsePlastic bags are soon eradicated. Read more: https://t.co/Mby2kUGLOu pic.twitter.com/OfMZn0AqEI
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) January 14, 2022
When you consider all of the extras like PCR testing, disposable gloves, and masks, the pandemic wasn’t exactly the finest background for the battle against single-use plastic.
That isn’t to say the effort has gone unnoticed. In fact, green shoots have sprouted in response to the difficulties posed by the global health crisis. “During the epidemic, the EAD has used the time to establish the regulatory framework in close consultation with the necessary corporate and public sector players,” Al Mazrouei says.