The UAE has issued a decision banning the production, circulation and use of single-use plastic products, starting early next year, as part of an initiative to reduce pollution.
The decision legalizes the consumption of plastic bags and regulates the production, circulation and use of single-use products and prohibits the import, production or circulation of single-use plastic shopping bags from 1 January 2024, including biodegradable plastic bags.
The decision also prohibits the import, production or circulation of single-use bags, regardless of the materials they are made of, also starting from 1 January 2024.
In the same context, and since 1 January 2026, it is forbidden to import, produce or trade consumer plastic products, including cups and lids for drinks, cutlery (spoons, forks, knives and chopsticks), plates, pipettes, stirrers, containers for food and boxes in material (foam) (polystyrene).
The decision called on all relevant authorities, the competent authority and consumers to work and adopt mechanisms and practices to reduce the production and consumption of single-use products which include packaging and packaging materials made partially or completely of plastic materials, including those used in food packaging, plastic bottles, cotton buds, cracker bags, cigarette butts and napkins Moisturizer, balloons and balloon sticks.
The decision urged all concerned authorities, the competent authority and consumers to take and encourage initiatives which help to increase reliance on the use of multi-use products and to ensure the readiness and availability of suitable, sustainable and multi-use alternatives in all purchases shops, retail stores and open-ended outlets.
The decision excludes certain products from the application of the ban, including rolls of thin envelopes used as specified in the guide issued by the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment in coordination with the authorities concerned. -export abroad, provided that a clear label is affixed indicating that the purpose of the production is export or re-export and that the trade of these products in the country’s markets is prohibited.
The exemption from the ban also includes bags and single-use products made from recycled materials in the country, as specified in the same guide, and other products and materials that are identified and excluded by the competent authority, in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Change climate and the environment.