UAE | Environment
Few shops care for green bags
Eco-friendly plastic bags are available in the UAE but only one supermarket in the country has stated it intends to use them.
- By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:31 April 24, 2008
Dubai: Eco-friendly plastic bags are available in the UAE but only one supermarket in the country has stated it intends to use them.
Symphony Environmental, a UK-based company, has introduced oxo-biodegradable plastic carriers.
They degrade completely from six months onwards - regardless of location or environmental conditions. Unlike normal plastic bags, which take around 1,000 years to biodegrade, oxo-biodegradable plastic carriers disintegrate into nothing more than water, carbon dioxide and a very small amount of biomass.
The bags disappear completely and leave no methane, harmful residues or fragments that animals can choke on.
Sharjah Cooperative Society announced earlier this month it will start using the carriers. But no other supermarket has made the move yet, despite oxo-biodegradable bags being only marginally more expensive while offering huge benefits to the environment. In many cases there is little, if any, additional cost involved in using the new product and the environmental and marketing benefits easily justify any small price increment.
Sharjah Cooperative has already moved to reassure customers that they will not have to pay any additional costs for the bag as the price difference has been covered by the cooperative's marketing budget.
Winston Pryce, representative for Symphony Environmental, said the bags offered the best and most comprehensive solution to the problem of plastic bags.
"Gulf News' campaign seems to have acted as a catalyst for change. People in different professions have been talking about the plastic bag issue for years but the paper's campaign has brought everybody together," said Pryce.
Normal plastic bags are photo degradable. They consist of an active ingredient based on a corn starch formula and need sunlight, heat and stress to biodegrade.
Oxo-biodegradable bags, however, will biodegrade wherever there is oxygen. They are also virtually indistinguishable from normal plastics.
Pryce said: "It is not feasible to ban plastic bags altogether. That would lead to job losses and greater social problems. Oxo-biodegradable bags offer all the benefits of a normal plastic bag in that they are strong and convenient. You can also reuse them but the key difference is that when you are finished with it you can throw it away in the knowledge you won't be harming the environment."
Environment
Oxo-biodegradable
- Are available in the UAE at little or no extra cost compared to ordinary plastic bags and are significantly cheaper than paper.
- Degrade totally within a relatively short time regardless of location or environmental conditions.
- Can have their degradation time programmed as required.
- Are approved for food packaging.
- Can be recycled.
- Are produced using the same equipment as conventional plastics. The texture is the same but the composition is different.
And the expert says
Dr Shahrazad Roohi, an environment specialist at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, told Gulf News the introduction of oxo-biodegradable bags was a huge step towards solving the plastic problem in the UAE.
"The product is definitely better than normal plastic carriers and is also a more viable alternative than paper bags. Overall, it is a very positive step that has opened up many doors for further new technologies and solutions to the plastic problem," Dr Shahrazad said.
"I am very confident that with further research we will soon be able to design a 100 per cent degradable bag that doesn't require the inclusion of an additive.
"At the moment these new oxo-biodegradable bags offer the best solution towards reducing the environmental threat posed by normal plastic carriers. They look like plastic, feel like plastic and are strong like plastic. But they don't pose any threat to the environment," she said.
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