The UAE’s efforts to reduce plastic pollution are a model that can be utilized and applied regionally and globally, as the problem of dealing with plastic lies in the fact that it is a vital, necessary and widely used material in our daily lives. The dairy, juices, food and parcels that reach us daily come packaged or wrapped in plastic, and without it, hundreds of people are spoiled. Millions of tons of food, causing a threat to global food security. The available alternatives to plastic are limited in use and have their own serious problems. Bags produced from fabric, for example, are expensive and have a high carbon footprint.
Most plastics do not disappear completely, but are divided into smaller pieces of microplastics that enter the human body through inhalation and absorption, and accumulate in the organs. What increases the risk is that plastic production is likely to triple by 2060, and its products need 400 years to decompose naturally, and the world produces about 400 million tons of waste annually. The UAE offers a successful experience in addressing this problem, by developing an integrated system. Among the decisions and strategies it has developed are at the forefront of countries committed to combating plastic pollution at all levels, by applying a comprehensive, sustainable and circular approach, starting with the institutional aspect, which includes developing strategies and plans aimed at getting rid of plastic, leading to effective procedures and decisions.
Among these measures that the state began early, the adoption of a mandatory standard specification regarding the characteristics of plastic bags and other biodegradable plastic products, the issuance of Cabinet Resolution No. 40 of 2009, which requires switching to biodegradable bags, and Ministerial Resolution No. 451 of 2011 regarding obligating manufacturers Plastic bags and plastic bag suppliers register biodegradable bag products. 117 factories were previously registered with the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology, at a rate of 97.5 percent, and 89 of them obtained the UAE Certificate of Conformity. Plastic bag manufacturers and plastic bag suppliers were also obligated to register biodegradable plastic bags, and to prevent the marketing and circulation of non-biodegradable plastic bags starting in 2012, by issuing a ministerial decision in this regard. Given the pivotal role of data in developing future plans and initiatives that lead to improving the current situation in the country, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment created a national electronic database for waste, and officially launched it in June 2018, as the base seeks to provide data on the various types of waste generated from waste. Through an electronic system that connects all authorities concerned with waste management in the country, through which the quantities of generated waste and the rate of treatment are recorded according to different treatment methods.
On the other hand, legislation of a progressive nature has been enacted to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic, as Ministerial Resolution No. 380 of 2022 was issued to regulate the use of single-use products in the country’s markets, to constitute one of the important measures in protecting the environment from pollution resulting from the consumption of such products. Products, as the decision limits the consumption of plastic bags, regulates the production and use of single-use products, and prohibits the import, production or circulation of single-use plastic shopping bags from January 1, 2024 federally, including biodegradable bags. It is also prohibited to import, produce, or trade single-use bags, regardless of the materials they are made of. At the societal level, the state has developed an integrated system to raise public awareness among various segments of society about the importance of sustainable consumption of this type of product, and to apply circular economy systems in dealing with plastic waste, by treating and recycling it, and using biodegradable types.
*Issued by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research.
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