UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Move to switch country to biodegradable plastic bags by 2013 / Suppliers should apply for product approval
What is still a theoretical and highly controversial construct in Europe (see Plasteurope.com of 24.05.2011) has now been fixed on paper in the Arab world. The government of the United Arab Emirates has finalised plans that will see ordinary plastic bags replaced with biodegradable alternatives in 2013. The move comes after a 2009 survey carried out by the Gulf country’s Ministry of Environment and Water that found that plastic bags and other plastics materials made up slightly more than 10% of the emirate’s household waste. According to the ministry’s Mariam Al Shanasy, about 11.6 bn plastic bags are used in the UAE each year.
 Authorities hope the bag ban will also help prevent camels from dying afer having ingested non-biodegradable plastic bags (Photo: UAE Environmental Ministry) |
The ban is to proceed in four stages, several news sources have outlined, ranging from education and awareness campaigns, finding alternatives to plastic bags, creating the relevant legal framework and finally, reducing and preventing the manufacture of non-degradable plastic bags. At present, companies capable of producing biodegradable bags can have their product approved by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA, www.esma.ae). So far, the authority has approved three suppliers: Wells Plastics (Stone, Staffordshire / UK; www.wellsplastics.com), Symphony Environmental (Borehamwood, Herts / UK; www.degradable.net) and Bin Hilal Enterprises (Abu Dhabi / UAE; www.bhe.ae).
31.05.2011 Plasteurope.com [219524-0]
Published on 31.05.2011