Abu Dhabi has reduced the use of single-use plastic bags in retail stores by 87 million since the emirate introduced a ban on June 1 to protect the environment and address the high rate of plastic bag use across the UAE, which is almost four times the global average.
The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi said the reduction is equivalent to half a million bags a day, with the overall use of single-use plastic bags down by more than 90 per cent.
The agency has also distributed a guide, in Arabic and English, entitled Becoming Free of Single-Use Products: A Guide for Abu Dhabi Government to all government agencies detailing ways to implement the commitment contained in the single-use plastic policy.
It has also introduced an app called Baadr — named after the Arabic word for "initiate" — that aims to educate, encourage and reward users looking to shift to a more environmentally friendly way of living.
The agency said it is also partnering with 30 private and public entities to develop a recovery system to collect and recover about 8,000 tonnes of plastic bottles over the next five years, which will go directly to the emirate’s recycling sector.
According to figures issued by the World Government Summit in February 2019, 11 billion plastic bags are used in the Emirates each year. Estimates suggest around 13 million tonnes of plastic enter the world’s oceans each year globally.
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