NEWS FROM UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

Plan to ban plastic bags

Dubai wants to rid the city of plastic bags by 2013. Andrew Henderson / The National

DUBAI - OCT 21: The Ministry of Environment and Water yesterday announced an ambitious plan to ban plastic shopping bags, which are a danger to the environment, by 2013.

The final details of a programme to eliminate a product the Government calls “dangerous” were revealed as a campaign was launched in malls, supermarkets and schools to discourage their use.

The second step, which has already begun unofficially, will be to introduce bags made of different material into shops that use lots of bags, such as supermarkets.

In 2012, the last phase will begin – letting the public know that in a year, plastic shopping bags will no longer be available.

“We have started a three-year campaign because we want to engage the people and the public with this issue and really explain what the dangers are,” Dr Maryam al Shinasi, the ministry’s executive director of technical affairs, said yesterday.

Speaking at the launch of the “UAE Free of Plastic Bags” campaign at Festival City, Dr al Shinasi said legislation in 2013 would ban all non-biodegradable plastic bags. The legislation is still being crafted, officials said.

But before that happens, consumers will become familiar with bags made of other materials, such as cotton, paper, as well as biodegradable plastic ones.

Certain stores and supermarkets, such as Lulu Hypermarket, have already begun phasing out non-biodegradable bags and replacing them with alternatives: bags made with “oxo-biodegradable” plastic that break down into non-poisonous materials in less than a year.

“We are currently working with factories that manufacture the bags so they can start producing bags that are an alternative to the non-biodegradable bags,” Dr al Shinasi said.

The Ministry of Enivronment and Water has found that 26,000 tonnes of plastic bags were produced for use inside the country in 2008. Only 2,000 tonnes of biodegradable bags were produced in 2008, an amount the Government hopes to increase.

“By having this awareness campaign, we hope to change people’s attitudes and habits towards plastic bags,” said Hunaida Qayed, head of the ministry’s education and awareness section.

“Research in Dubai has found that one in every two camels dies from eating plastic bags,” Mrs Qayed added.

“Furthermore, when released into the earth, the bags emit poisonous chemicals. This is dangerous and needs to be stopped.”

The ban would follow in the steps of other countries, such as Australia and Ireland, which have introduced similar bans.

Other cities and countries around the world have also taken steps in the past few years to ban the use of plastic bags, including San Francisco, New Delhi, and Mumbai. Most recently Mexico City implemented a law initially introduced in March.

But opposition to bans and other anti-plastic bag measures has emerged as well.

An industry-backed group, Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, based in San Francisco, California, has argued against implementing the ban in other cities across the state, claiming that paper bags are actually worse for the environment.

According to the group’s research, paper bags result in 3.3 times more greenhouse gas emissions than plastic bags, they use up to 2.3 times more landfill space, and weigh at least 10 times more than plastic bags.

And in 2005, a Scottish Executive report on the effects of introducing a plastic bag fee found that paper bags had “a more adverse impact than a plastic bag for most of the environmental issues considered”.

But the Government sees its measures as part of a bigger initiative.

“This is an issue to do with the environment, not just plastic bags,” Mrs Qayed said. “It is important that people are aware of the dangers.

“We want to teach people to reduce the number of bags they use when they go shopping as well; instead of using five or six bags, they should use only a couple.”

The message resonated with at least one student at the launch event.

“They need to teach people how the bags damage our lives and our community so that we don’t have a terrible future,” said Farida Abdul Ghaffar, an 11-year-old student at Dubai International School.

“I am shocked at how much they can damage the environment.”

 
Opium found in seat of wheelchair

DUBAI - OCT 21: Customs officers seized more than 10kg of opium in two operations at the Dubai Cargo village.

In the first seizure, 6.2kg of opium was found inside a box that contained four reels of curtain trimmings, and another 4.5kg of the drug was found hidden inside the seat and back of a wheelchair.

In both cases, the consignments were in transit through Dubai to a western country, Mohammed al Merri, the executive director of cargo operations at Dubai Customs, said yesterday.

“Both shipments came from an Asian country heading to the West,” he said. However he said he could not disclose the destination or origin until the formal investigations were closed.