UAE | Environment
Abu Dhabi retail chain introduces safe biodegradable plastic bags
About 1.3 tonnes of plastic bags will not be dumped in Abu Dhabi everyday from Monday thanks to the green initiative of a retail chain.
- By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:44 June 15, 2008
- In spite of the additional overhead costs, we are making a conscious change for a worthy cause, says George Mojica, General Manager of Adcoops.
- Image Credit: Supplied Picture
Abu Dhabi: About 1.3 tonnes of plastic bags will not be dumped in Abu Dhabi everyday from Monday thanks to the green initiative of a retail chain.
About 10 outlets of the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society (Adcoops), which uses about 35 to 40 tonnes of plastic bags a month, will start using environment-friendly shopping bags from today, a senior official told Gulf News.
George Mojica, General Manager of Adcoops, said Adcoops is extending its support to Gulf News' 'Go Green' campaign by introducing oxo-biodegradable bags, which disintegrate within eight to 10 weeks if exposed to the sun or mechanical stress.
Other biodegradable bags take at least 18 months to disintegrate. Oxo-biodegradable bags don't leave behind harmful residues and complete the cycle of resource utilisation and return the intractable plastics to their natural origin.
Although the biodegradable bags are 20 to 25 per cent costlier than ordinary plastic bags, the cost will never be transferred to consumers, he said.
Social responsibility
"It is a gift to our consumers as part of our social responsibility, to take a strong step on the issue, so that others in the industry may follow suit," said Mojica.
"In spite of the additional overhead costs, we are making a conscious change for a worthy cause," said Faisal Al Arshi, deputy general manager of Adcoops.
'Foldable and reusable'
People can soon keep shopping bags in their pockets. "We will introduce foldable reusable plastic bags, which will be user friendly," George Mojica, General Manager of Adcoops, told Gulf News.
"We are designing beautiful bags that will prompt customers to avoid ordinary plastic bags.
"We received good response to our reusable plastic bags priced Dh2, introduced a couple of months ago," he said.
Share this article
Related Articles
-
Green efforts begin at home
Green efforts begin at home for Dubai-based Sparkle and Shine
-
Tourism sans plastic
Tourism sans plastic
-
Children join hands to defeat the litter bug
Children join hands to defeat the litter bug
More from UAE Environment
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Have your say
Living in untidy homes
Do you think that people who live in untidy homes have bad character?
Latest news
- HAAD action against doctor who sold sick leaves
- Napolitano warns against anti-Muslim backlash
- Fog sweeps the UAE
- Emirati students in US set to rise
- No friends of mother Earth
- Tussle on for tertiary students
- Faded parking lines pose a problem
- UAE to announce H1N1 vaccination campaign
- Focus on best methods of crime investigation
- Benefits of pill-sized camera displayed
- Prosecutions need to adopt new technologies
- Big decline in robberies in Dubai
- Ministry to shut down typing centres
- Car stickers to identify new drivers on road
- So what will it take to float Gulf News' boat?
Community Reports
-
Faded parking lines pose a problem
Motorists could be fined for parking incorrectly even though they can hardly see the boundaries in the designated areas
-
School buses block residential parking
Commercial vehicles taking up free parking facilities in Al Wuheida, inconveniencing residents in surrounding villas
-
Community report: Doing their bit for poor children
A group of students takes concrete action to raise funds for Dubai Cares
-
Surprising truth of 'abandoned cars'
An Abu Dhabi resident believes that some mechanics are using parking spaces as rent-free workshops
