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Regular plastic bags to be phased out by 2013

Dubai: Mechanisms to ensure all plastic bags produced and used in the UAE are capable of degrading quickly have been finalised, to meet the 2013 ban on regular plastic bags that take hundreds of years to degrade.

It is estimated that there are more than 100 manufacturers and suppliers of bio- or oxo-biodegradable additives in the UAE. About 95 per cent of the plastic bags used in the UAE are manufactured in the country, the other five per cent is imported.

According to a senior government official, all providers and suppliers of oxo-biodegradable additives — ingredients that will enable plastic bags to degrade quickly — need to be verified and approved by Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) before they can deal with plastic manufacturers and traders.

Mohammad Saleh Badri, Acting Director General of ESMA, said: "All the plastic bags used in the UAE must be biodegradable from 2013 so all... the people using them should be made aware of this regulation and practise it."

Standards

All plastics that are biodegradable will bear a "Mark of Conformity" or a logo that shows they meet government standards.

Three suppliers of these granular additives have been approved by ESMA — Wells Plastics Limited, Symphony Environmental Limited and Bin Hilal Enterprises.

The verification aims to ensure that the process of degradation will not harm the people and environment.


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