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Dubai community to convert single-use plastic into reusable shopping bags

Campaign to offset 497 grammes of carbon dioxide per recycled cloth cover

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Residents of The Sustainable City in Dubai are being encouraged to collect and convert their single-use plastic to make reusable shopping bags. Dubai will introduce a 25-fil charge on single-use bags from tomorrow, July 1.

The Sustainable City in Dubai announced the new community initiative to eliminate plastic pollution and divert single-use plastic waste from landfills. The city's Plastic for Fabric bags are made from 100 per cent recycled PET plastic, collected by children living in the community, and Sanad Village, the community's rehabilitation centre for autism and other related disorders. Once collected, the plastic is sent for recycling and converted into fabric shopping bags. The bags are then distributed in collection points around the community. They will also be circulated for all The Sustainable City deliveries from Zoom Supermarket.

Salah Habib, chief executive officer of Diamond Developers, said: "We are proudly committed to supporting the national target to completely ban all disposable bags in the UAE by 2024. As a leading player in sustainability, we understand the importance of implementing sustainable best practices across all our communities."

"To date, we have already successfully eliminated all kinds of single-use plastic from restaurants in The Sustainable City and now, working closely with our partners, we are phasing out plastic bags. We will continue to positively impacting our communities, and play our role in making the nation one of the most sustainable destinations in the world."

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The Plastic for Fabric campaign will offset 497 grammes of carbon dioxide per reusable bag. Over the long term, the campaign will lead to a significant reduction in the circulation of single-use plastic bags.

Estimates show that one reusable bag replaces approximately 500 single-use plastic ones over a one-year period.

• Dubai