The UAE continues with its combined efforts at the federal and local levels to address the menace 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.
The initiatives and measures implemented by the UAE in order to reduce the consumption of plastic bags focus on raising public awareness in all segments of the 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 Climate Change and Environment is leading efforts to reduce consumption of plastic bags at the federal level. In 2009, it launched a three-year ‘The Emirates Free of Plastic Bags’ initiative with the aim of gradually reducing the production and use of plastic bags and non-biodegradable plastic products, and to ensure the preservation of natural resources and achieve environmental security.
With the aim of accelerating the transition to biodegradable bags, a ministerial resolution (No. 451) was issued in 2011 obligating plastic bag manufacturers and suppliers to register biodegradable plastic bags for the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) approval certificate. Since 2013, the UAE has banned the circulation and import of non-biodegradable plastic bags.
In March 2020, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) 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-WWF in partnership with the private sector. The policy was based on international best practices with measures that address challenges in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The policy established a system for returning plastic bottles to retail outlets to ensure a change in behaviour towards relying on multi-use materials instead of shifting consumption from plastic materials to non-plastic single-use materials.
The Executive Council in the emirate of Dubai has tweeted that single-use plastic bags will be charged 25 fils at checkout counters in all stores in Dubai from 1 July, 2022, onwards. The move comes “to limit single-use bags to enhance environmental sustainability,” it said. The new rule has also included pharmacies, e-commerce deliveries, and restaurants within its ambit. According to the approved policy, a comprehensive awareness campaign will be launched for members of the society and the private sector with the aim of preserving environmental sustainability, and changing behaviours of excessive use of plastic materials.
The experiment will be evaluated in stages until the use of these bags is completely prohibited within two years of application. The changes in human behaviour will also be monitored as sustainability has become imperative globally.
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 in more than 90 countries, which reflects international efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags which have already become an environmental hazard.
In Ras Al Khaimah, the Environment Protection and Development Authority (RAK EPDA) has taken major steps to take a 180 in plastic use by implementing the ‘Ras Al Khaimah Plastic Free’ initiative, chiefly targeting supermarkets and bakeries.
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