Single use plastic
Representative image AFP / Asaad NIAZI

KEY POINTS

  • The ban on single-use plastic bags will be a prelude to banning all plastic products starting 2026
  • The ban excludes recycled bags, bag rolls used to keep items safe, and products for export
  • The UAE aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

UAE residents will soon be prohibited from using single-use plastic. The city announced Tuesday that a blanket ban on single-use plastic shopping bags shall be enforced starting Jan. 1, 2024.

A ministerial resolution prohibiting the import, production, and circulation of such shopping bags will take effect next year, serving as the prelude to banning all products made of single-use plastic. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, the same resolution will apply to plastic cutlery, drinking cups, styrofoam, and boxes. These include cutlery used in fast food restaurants, such as spoons, forks, knives, chopsticks, straws, and stirrers.

The resolution states that the ban will include everything from "food packaging, plastic bottles, cotton sticks, cracker bags, and cigarette butts... wet wipes, balloons, and balloon sticks" containing plastic. However, the move excludes certain products, including thin bag rolls used to keep items safe and products for export or re-export, as long as they are properly labeled. The law also exempts bags made out of recycled materials in the country.

In line with the resolution, the UAE government urged authorities, retailers, suppliers, and consumers to prepare "suitable and multi-use alternatives in all shopping stores, retail stores and sales outlets on a permanent basis." The government also urged authorities to come up with mechanisms to curb the production of single-use materials used to pack items like earbuds, cigarettes, wet wipes and balloons.

The plastic ban is the latest initiative aimed at safeguarding the environment by reducing pollution in the oil-rich nation. As a major oil producer, the UAE declared during this year's United Nations Climate Summit that it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi, started imposing a ban on single-use plastics in June 2022. The ban has already led to 87 million fewer single-use plastic bags being used in the city, equivalent to a 90 percent decrease. Dubai also began charging around 25 fils for such bags in July to limit their use among consumers.

Sharjah also introduced a charge of 25 fils per single-use plastic bags starting Oct. 1, 2022. The city has committed to implementing the ban into full effect from Jan. 1, 2024.