As part of its vision for a single-use product-free government, the Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi (EAD) recently held a workshop with 60 government organisations to discuss the implementation of the Guide entitled: Becoming Free of Single-Use Products: A Guide for Abu Dhabi Government. This follows the launch of the single-use plastic bag ban on June 1st as well as the launch of Mission to Zero, a public-facing campaign that has set an aspirational target of achieving zero single-use plastic consumption in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

 

During the workshop, the Agency highlighted the importance of eliminating single-use products and replacing them with multiple use to help protect the environment from harm. As an example, EAD also shared success stories of government organisations that have managed to reduce their reliance on single-use products and how they achieved this goal.

 

Many Abu Dhabi government entities have already started phasing out all targeted single use products including cutlery, cups, plates, bottles and stirrers regardless of the material they are made of. This initiative targets all government premises and the supply chain. The aim is to have a government that is fully free from these products, share good practice and encourage sustainable institutional behaviour.

 

Furthermore, EAD, leading by example, has also removed all targeted products such as single use plastic bottles from its premises and operations and replaced them with water dispensers and directed all hospitality companies and related service providers not to use single-use materials in any of their activities and to shift to multi-use materials.

 

The Agency also shed light on the Mission to Zero campaign. A key facet of the campaign is the ‘Big Zero’ installations, points across the city where members of the public can deposit their single-use plastic bottles for recycling. Mission to Zero is also encouraging the community to consume fewer plastics through an aggressive and dynamic outdoor advertising campaign.