Jubail bans plastic bags in bakeries

JUBAIL: The Jubail Municipality has banned the use of plastic bags in public bakeries in the province and launched an awareness campaign about the health damages caused by plastic bags when used for hot food items.
Jubail Municipality Chairman Naif Al-Dawish said: “According to directives from Eastern Province Mayor Fahad Al-Jubair on food quality and means of preserving the environment, I have issued a circular banning the use of plastic bags in public bakeries, and replacing them with paper bags, to ensure the safety of citizens and residents.”
Al-Dawish said this campaign came in the wake of the first phase conducted by the services department in the Eastern Province to replace plastic bags with the paper bags in bakeries in order to provide consumers with healthy and uncontaminated food.
He said plastic material has many health risks that may result from the transfer of its components to food items, especially when hot bread is placed in the plastic bags for long periods, particularly in the summer season.
The Jubail Municipality observed that public bakeries packaged hot bread in plastic bags, which leads to a negative interaction between the plastic material and the food items, and this has a dangerous impact on human health, Al-Dawish said.