UAE three-year campaign to end use of plastic bags

“The detailed specification for the additives to be used in the new plastic mixture is expected to be laid down in 2010,” said Dr Mariam Al Shenasi, executive director for technical affairs at the ministry.

“Plastics manufacturers must then comply with the specification, in line with the ministry’s nationwide drive to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags by 2013, for the protection of human health and natural resources.”

A three-year campaign titled “UAE Free of Plastic Bags” aims to develop environmental awareness among consumers, encouraging them to use bags made either from biodegradable plastics or from alternative (preferably recycled) materials.

Initial survey results show that the UAE consumes around one billion plastic bags every year, and that plastic items constitute 10.9% of domestic waste.

Al-Shenasi noted that some supermarkets in the Emirates, such as Carrefour, have started replacing non-biodegradable bags with alternatives that break down into non-toxic materials in less than a year. She added: “Plastics manufacturers themselves want their products to be environmentally friendly. This initiative will add to their credibility.”

On the environmental impact of non-biodegradable bags, Al-Shenasi said: “Plastic bags have been found in the digestive tracts of more than 200 dead camels, turtles, dolphins and fish. And when plastics are incinerated, they may produce other materials harmful to the environment.”

Ministry of Environment and Water officials visited 26 major UAE plastics factories, in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Sharjah. Al-Shenasi reported: “While 14 of them produced 26,000 tonnes of plastic bags for local use in 2008, only 2,000 tonnes of these were biodegradable.”

Abdulaziz Al Midfa, director-general of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority, Sharjah, said that plastics manufacturers, “which have already created a massive environmental problem,” should be fully involved in the solution. “The private sector must shoulder its responsibility towards society. They can easily use biodegradable formulations for plastic bags.”

Al Midfa added: “Monitoring the wastes received at the Sharjah landfill shows a small drop in plastic bag disposal; a noticeable decrease has been reported in plastic bag usage at shopping malls.”

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