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The Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi (EAD) announced on Monday that plastic bag consumption in the emirate was reduced by 364 million bags since the ban on single-use plastics came into effect more than two years ago.
It added that more than 130 million plastic bottles were also recovered.
"This is the equivalent of 2,400 tonnes of plastic, or 547,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs), equating to 130,000 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles being driven for one year," it added in a statement.
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"Prior to the policy’s implementation, shoppers used three bags per shopping trip, but now only use 0.4 bags. This has also led to a 2,000 per cent increase in the number of reusable bags in just one year, increasing from 603 bags in 2022 to 26,075 bags in 2023 at one of the emirate’s main outlets," said Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of EAD.
"The results of a survey we conducted indicated that 84 per cent of the public are aware of the policy and its requirements, and 82 per cent said that the policy has a positive impact on quality of life, represented by clean beaches and waterways," she added.
The Agency predicts that the enforcement of the ban will result in saving over 400 million single-use plastic bags by the end of this year. In the last nine months alone, consumption has decreased by 121.5 million bags. By year-end, the EAD anticipates it will have collected 90 million single-use plastic bottles in 2024 alone.
On June 1, EAD imposed a ban on some Styrofoam products. The Agency reported a 97 per cent compliance rate has been achieved among retailers, with a prediction of further compliance improvements by the end of the year. These proactive measures by Abu Dhabi are a prelude to the Federal ban on targeted Styrofoam and plastic products which will become effective in 2026.
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