RIYADH: The UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi, has announced that it is going to ban single-use plastic bags starting June amid efforts to phase out by 2024, Bloomberg reported.
This follows neighboring emirate Dubai’s goal to phase out the plastic bags in two years’ time.
By 2024, Abu Dhabi is also planning to put a halt to single use styrofoam cups, plates, and food containers.
In an attempt to do so, Abu Dhabi’s environmental agency will develop measures to bring down demand for an estimated 16 single-use plastic products. It will also impose an incentive-based single-use plastic water bottle return program across the city.
The decision comes “in light of their harmful impacts on the environment and biodiversity,” Bloomberg reported, citing Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, secretary general of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency.
An estimated 300 million tons of plastic waste is produced on a yearly basis, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The move also falls in line with the UAE’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
