Abu Dhabi, 23rd December 2024: Since the ban on single-use plastic bags came into effect on June 1st, 2022, as part of the emirate’s Single-Use Plastic Policy, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has announced that 364 million single-use plastic bags have been saved. This is the equivalent of 2,400 tonnes of plastic, or 547,000 tonnes of Green House Gases (GHGs), equal to 130,000 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles being driven for one year.
In 2023, EAD launched the ‘Incentive-based Bottle Return Scheme’ initiative, in collaboration with key partners, to recover and recycle single-use plastic bottles. To date, more than 130 million bottles have been collected from around 150 Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs), smart bins, as well as door-to-door collections. The total amount of recyclable plastic collected is 2,000 tonnes – enough to fill up to 80 truckloads. So far, in 2024, 67 million bottles have been returned for recycling.
Similarly, on June 1st of this year, EAD imposed a ban on some Styrofoam products. The Agencyreported a 97 per cent compliance rate has been achieved among retailers, with a prediction offurther compliance improvements by the end of the year. These proactive measures by the emirate are a prelude to the Federal ban on targeted Styrofoam and plastic products which will become effective in 2026.
The Agency predicts that the enforcement of the ban will have saved 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 the end of this year, the Agency anticipates it will have collected 90 million single-use plastic bottles in 2024.
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