Dubai Airports to impose ban on single use plastics from 2020

Single use plastics will be banned from consumer spaces at the Dubai International Airport from January 1, 2020, operator Dubai Airports has announced.

“At an airport that hosts some 90 million people per year, we believe we can make a tangible difference by eliminating single use plastics in consumer spaces,” said Eugene Barry, executive vice president, Commercial at Dubai Airports.

“Today we are making a commitment to work with all of our concession and hospitality partners to achieve that goal effective January 1, 2020.”

On World Environment Day last week, Dubai Airports collaborated with over 106 businesses operating at Dubai International (DXB) to highlight the impact of eliminating practices and materials that can harm the environment.

Several measures were put in place including banning plastic utensils, bags and paper receipts, Dubai Airports said in a statement.

One of the most overused single use plastic included in the elimination efforts is straws, and in just one day, the pledge prevented the distribution of over 150,000 straws, equivalent to 30,000 million worth of plastic.

Overall, Dubai Airports said it recycles over 43,000 tonnes of paper, glass and other waste every year.

Over the past six months alone, Dubai Airports collected and disposed of 16 tonnes of single use plastic bottles and bottle caps, the statement added.