In June, Dubai introduced a plastic bag ban (on single-use ones in particular) across the city. So why when we’re shopping do we still get offered a bag as an option at the till?
First announced at the beginning of 2023, the plastic bag ban is part of the city’s wider bid to make daily life in Dubai more sustainable.
A fee of 25 fils was required from July 2022 until June 2024 for anyone who needed a single-use bag but this charge was scrapped when the single-use bags were ditched.
So, why are we still carrying our shopping in plastic bags with all of these changes?
Why we’re still getting plastic bags in Dubai stores
In simple terms, it’s all in the details.
The plastic bag ban was introduced for all single-use bags using materials thinner than 57 micrometres and also includes those made out of paper and biodegradable plant material.
Yep, that means the bags we’re getting at the tills are thicker than the 57 micrometres outlined in the ban.
The idea is that the bags we’re now getting are reusable since they’re stronger and capable of multiple trips to the shops which then means that they don’t wind upbreak so easily and end up in landfill.
Beyond living in a greener city, retail outlets in Dubai are offering incentives to customers to reuse any bags they have at home.
At Spinneys, for example, bags cost just one fil and are designed to be reusable for shoppers. If you bring back a reusable bag then you’ll get 25 fils off your next bill.
Bags at the store are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic so in addition to not being single-use, they are also reducing further plastic waste.
Carrefour also offers reusable bags thicker than 57 micrometres, which are designed to be reusable.
Every Wednesday during July will see all plastic bags at Carrefour stores removed to mark International Plastic Bag Free Day, which fell on July 3.
At Lulu stores, you’ll also find bags thicker than 57 micrometres, also known as microns, as well as a bunch of sustainable bags made out of recycled, jute or cloth materials ranging from Dh1 to Dh10.
Customers at Nesto outlets are encouraged to shopper trolleys which are available for purchase and can be used for multiple shopping trips in addition to resusable bag options.
After the single-use plastic bag ban, what other items are being prohibited?
The single-use plastic bag ban is just the first step in a gradual phasing out of one-time-use products across the city.
On January 1 2025, products such as plastic stirrers, table covers, cups, styrofoam food containers, plastic straws and plastic cotton swabs will be prohibited in Dubai.
As of June 1, 2024, #Dubai takes a stand against single-use bags. Make the switch to reusable cloth bags & be part of the change.#DubaiMoreSustainable #DubaiMunicipality pic.twitter.com/deZkFgBHfT
— بلدية دبي | Dubai Municipality (@DMunicipality) May 25, 2024
And from 2026 other plastic or foam products such as cups, plates, cutlery, boxes and containers will no longer be allowed.
It takes 400 years for a plastic bag to decompose in the environment, and thousands of years for the negative environmental impact to be mitigated.
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