The retail and foodservice sectors in the UAE face a common challenge to look after the environment.
Recent efforts aimed at eliminating or reducing plastic bag usage have been quite widespread, most recently Dubai announced imposing a tax on everybody who uses plastic bags. On the other side, another survey confirmed that more than 85% of the UAE population prefer shopping at stores that support sustainable packaging and take measures to reduce their carbon footprint. Therefore, retail and foodservice providers are catching up with their customers demand and exploring multiple green solutions to upgrade their core operations.
Recent moves by the authorities in UAE to introduce a ban on plastic bags
2022 started in force in UAE with regards to sustainability and environmental new laws.
Abu Dhabi: Beginning of January 2022, a couple of articles appeared in the news across UAE that single-use plastic bags could be banned by the end of the year.
Dubai: In February the Dubai Media Office announced on their official Twitter channel that effective July 1st, 2022, a new policy that imposes a tariff of 24 fils on single-use bags used for carrying goods will come into effect.
In the same tweet, the Office shared some disturbing facts as well:
- 400 years is the period required for plastic bags to decompose and thousands of years are required to mitigate their negative environmental impacts
- 86% of dead turtles found on some of the emirates` shores had consumed plastic materials
- 50% of camel deaths in the UAE are due to the consumption of plastic bags
Now, these are shocking numbers, and if we put it in perspective maybe we start realizing how plastic affects us and generations to come.
Ban enforceability by emirate
Abu Dhabi is expected to come to a complete ban on plastic bags at the end of 2022, which means there is still time to start looking at sustainable & biodegradable packaging alternatives.
Here at Avani, we offer you one of the best (if not THE BEST) alternatives for plastic bags: cassava bags, 100% natural, no additives, sustainable, compostable, biodegradable and recyclable.
Check out the video below to understand better how our bags decompose without any use of special facilities:
Dubai will start imposing 25 fils for all single-use bags from July 1st, 2022, and will apply to retail stores, textile and electronic stores, restaurants, online and e-commerce deliveries and pharmacies. Dubai will revaluate the policy over several stages until single-use bags will be completely banned within a time frame of 2 years.
Retailers & F&B operators need to start looking for sustainable & biodegradable packaging solutions
Looking at the current scenario all the retailers & F&B operators will have to start looking for sustainable packaging from now, this way avoiding ending up with stocks of plastic bags when the ban comes into effect. Furthermore, it is safe to say that rather than only switching to eco-friendly bags why not do a complete revamp of all single-use packaging? We offer a wide range of packaging that is compostable in biodegradable when disposed of in the regular bin, without the need for selective garbage collection nor additional costs involved in processing the recyclable materials.
Why look for a biodegradable and sustainable packaging solutions now?
In a poll conducted by the Dubai government, 85% of the emirate’s population supports the ban on plastic bags. So it’s only natural that you want to run a business that offers a wide range of eco-friendly packaging, not just plastic-free bags. Either that or have customers avoid your business.
Finally, in order to make the UAE an eco-friendly country, we need to get rid of all the unnecessary plastic packaging that is still being used by many businesses. We should use plastic-free and reusable packaging containers that are eco-friendly and can be easily dumped in the regular bin once the products are used by the customer.
Contact us by using the form here and let one of our team members help you find the best eco-friendly and sustainable solution for your business.
You can always use our shop section and have the items delivered within 2 working days anywhere in UAE.