UAE plastic bag-free by 2013?

His Excellency Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment & Water of the United Arab Emirates, chose the inauguration of ArabPlast, the Gulf region's key plastics industry trade event, on Saturday January 8th to announce that the country was on track to achieve the goal of becoming free of plastic bags by 2013. At present the UAE consumes 20 billion bags, out of the global figure of 500 billion bags according to organisers of ArabPlast show.

UAE Minister of Environment & Water, Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad.

No details we announced regarding the likely substitutes for plastic bags. Dr. Bin Fahed added, "The UAE and GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] plastics industry is committed to developing products and implementing practices that can contribute to a cleaner, safer and better world."

Also at the ArabPlast inauguration, Dr. Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, Board Director and General Manager of resin supplier Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) noted that in the lead-up to the World Cup 2022, the sports industry would need "lots of plastics" for the establishment of sports cities. A key component of Qatar's successful World Cup bid was its plan to dismantle stadia after the event concluded and ship them to developing countries for re-erection. These stadia are set to be heavily reliant on plastics, in particular for seating. —[email protected]

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