UAE: Members of Coalition Circle (Coalition of Innovation in Recycling towards a Closed Loop Economy) including BASF, Borouge, TetraPak, Carrefour, Coca-Cola, Dow, Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, McDonald’s UAE, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Unilever and Emirates Nature – WWF have signed a pledge with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) to develop a circular economy model to combat the issue of plastic and packaging waste pollution by improving collection in the United Arab Emirates.
The signing of the pledge took place at a round table discussion attended by His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and the coalition members. The objectivesof Coalition Circle are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the UAE National Sustainable Consumption Plan.
As part of the initiative, the coalition will launch a pilot project in Abu Dhabi to test the economic and environmental impact of plastic and other packaging material forcircular economy and to develop recommendations to accelerate sustainability solutions for an optimized waste management infrastructure.
His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment said, “Plastics will remain an important packaging material, however, we need to ensure that used packaging of any kind does not end up in the environment. Waste management and recovery is a complex problem that requires innovative solutions and strong partnerships and we are proud to work with Project Circle, which is driving the momentum to improve the collection and recycling of packaging materials. Collaboration will be key to success and we look forward to joining forces to achieve sustainable solutions and protecting the environment for future generations. The development of this pilot project is not only critical to support the environment but economic objectives and together we aim to contribute to the overall wellbeing of the UAE.”