Abu Dhabi: How a ban on single-use plastic bags changed residents’ habits

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi’s year-long ban on the distribution of single-use plastic bags has seen a noticeable shift in public awareness, with residents now more aware of their plastic footprint.

In addition to carrying their own cloth and multi-purpose bags when shopping, residents are also more vigilant about their other single-use plastics of choice.

Abu Dhabi’s ban on single-use plastic bags will come into effect on June 1, 2022.

The emirate’s environmental sector regulator, the Environment Authority of Abu Dhabi (EAD), has teamed up with major retailers to immediately ban the distribution of single-use bags at checkouts and promote reusable plastic, paper and fabric bags.

To reduce the cost of using plastic, the EAD also imposes a 50-fil duty on each multi-purpose plastic bag that customers take away at checkout.

The regulation ushered in a series of sustainable changes. For one, retailers and stores are switching to multipurpose bags for customers, with most choosing non-plastic materials for their bags. The 50-phil tariff also lowers the cost of plastic for residents.

“Once the rules came into effect, it allocated costs based on the number of plastic bags we used. Waste no longer made sense and we found ourselves paying more and more attention to how much plastic we were consuming,” Sharifa Alblooshi, a 32-year-old UAE human resources manager, told Gulf News .

Alblooshi said that while her family initially forgot their bags when shopping, it quickly became a habit.

“We started keeping extra bags in the car, and when we forgot to bring some, we just used the shopping cart to bring the groceries to the car and unloaded them piece by piece at home,” she said.

Abu Dhabi has managed to reduce the daily use of single-use plastic bags by more than half a million over the past 12 months, as the latest statistics released by the EAD show. Of course, reducing usage is possible through the conscious choices of residents, coupled with regulatory encouragement and a range of reusable bag options available in stores and retailers.

Shuq Almemari, a 25-year-old UAE marketing professional, said she and her family not only carry their own shopping bags with them, but also reuse plastic bags for other purposes.

“We use them to line litter boxes, or to carry shoes when we go to the gym,” she said.

Vagabond incidents still occur when residents opt for multipurpose bags to take their shopping home. But these are rare.

“I go grocery shopping three times a week and know exactly how many bags to bring before I go shopping,” said Arnold Navales, a 35-year-old Filipino nurse.

“On the rare occasion that I pop into a store after work and end up buying a few items, I do pay for an all-purpose plastic bag. But the extra cost of this bag reminds me that I shouldn’t waste it, “Navales has bought two durable fabric tote bags for his shopping.

“These environmental habits instilled by Abu Dhabi laws will also help me back in the Philippines, where similar laws on plastic use are being implemented,” he said.

For Dr. Thakur Mulchandani and his family, there was no need to change any shopping habits.

“We are used to plastic bans as this is the norm back home in Mumbai. But the direction of regulation in Abu Dhabi has made it easier to spread the message among the community,” said the Indian expat.

As principal of the Sunrise English private school, Dr Mulchandani banned single-use plastics from being circulated in the school.

“The regulation really highlights the detrimental impact on our environment and it’s great to see more people, including children, paying more attention,” he said.

In fact, for many residents, the transition has been much easier than expected.

Almemari said her in-laws were the first to buy reusable bags for the family.

“My mother-in-law even brought her own trolley home for big-ticket purchases. She was involved from the start,” she says.

Alblooshi added that her nieces and nephews are some of the biggest advocates when it comes to limiting plastic use.

Restrictions on single-use plastic bags have had far-reaching effects.

“We are all more conscious about the single-use plastics we consume. For example, we always choose not to use extra single-use cutlery when ordering food,” says Alblooshi.

These wider impacts on the community will see the relaxation of additional controls on single-use plastics as part of Abu Dhabi’s single-use plastic policy, which will come into effect in January 2024. In addition to single-use plastic bags, the policy will also ban the distribution of other single-use plastic items in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, including cutlery, cups, straws and lids.

Since then, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman have also imposed duties on single-use plastic bags. The UAE will ban these single-use plastic bags nationwide from January 2024, and other single-use plastic items from January 2026.

The move follows the country’s unanimous focus on sustainability and climate action after it was reported at the 2019 World Government Summit that the UAE’s plastic bag use is almost four times the global average.

In addition to plastic bags, Abu Dhabi is now working to encourage more recycling of plastic water bottles.