Starting 1 January 2024, The UAE has announced to implement a blanket ban on single-use plastic shopping bags. The ministerial resolution also prohibits the import, production and circulation of single-use plastic shopping bags.
This comes as part of Ministerial Resolution No. 380 of 2022, which regulates the use of single-use products in the country’s markets. The decision aims to protect the environment from pollution caused by the consumption of such products.
The country will ban plastic products including cutlery, cups and lids, plates, pipettes and stirrers will be banned from 1 January 2026.
The decision emphasised the need to promote and support initiatives that increase the use of multi-use products and to ensure that sustainable, multi-use alternatives are readily available at all retail outlets on a permanent basis.