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28 March 2024

UAE to be plastic bag-free by 2013

Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment & Water, inaugurates exhibition in Dubai on Saturday (SUPPLIED)

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By Staff

The UAE is on track to achieve the goal of becoming free of plastic bags by 2013, said Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment & Water, in Dubai on Saturday. 

At present, the UAE consumes 20 billion bags, out of the global figure of 500 billion bags, according to organisers of ArabPlast show.

ArabPlast & Tekno/Tube are leading business and industrial platforms in a market with major investments and a great future for the plastics and petrochemicals in the GCC in general and the UAE in particular.

ArabPlast 2011, the Middle East premier trade show for rubber, plastics and plastic processing is in its 10th edition with significant international participation.

Speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition, Fahad said: “The success of ArabPlast and TeknoTube 2011 exhibitions demonstrates the robustness of the exhibitions industry in the UAE. The UAE and the entire GCC regions are on the forefront of countries preserving the environment when it comes to producing plastics. The UAE will be free of plastics bags in 2013. The national plastics and petrochemicals companies are adhering to the environment measures we have in place to enhance the environment friendly approach of the UAE as part of their corporate social responsibility towards the community. Their adherence to environment measures also enhances their global competitive edge.”

Tekno/Tube Arabia, the international trade fair for industrial machinery, metalworking and machine tools, the only specialized and established event of its kind in the Middle East, has helped foster this growth in its 20th year which has proved that it is the ideal platform for companies to make inroads into the booming Middle East market.

Fahed added: “The UAE and GCC plastics industry is committed to developing products and implementing practices that can contribute to a cleaner, safer and better world.”

In the GCC, main four countries producing petrochemicals are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait.