The tide continues to turn on plastic, with Dubai airports pledging to ban all single use plastics by the start of next year.
Both Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest international hub, and Dubai World Central are aiming to tackling the global issue of plastic pollution.
Dubai Airports, which manages both hubs, announced the ban on items such as bags, utensils and paper receipts in all consumer spaces from January 1 2020.
In the past six months alone, Dubai Airports has collected and disposed of more than 16 tonnes of plastic bottles and bottle caps. And earlier this month, to mark World Environment Day, Costa Coffee unveiled a huge art installation in the airport.
An artist turned 60,000 unwanted plastic straws into a sculpture of the Earth. Eugene Barry, EVP of commercial at Dubai Airport, said: “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.
“Today we are making a commitment to work with all of our concession and hospitality partners to achieve that goal effective January 1, 2020.”
The move already prevented the distribution of more than 150,000 straws in one single day. That’s 30,000 metres worth of plastic – and a very good step in the right direction.
