United Arab Emirates To Ban Disposable Plastics
- by TreeHugger
- February 23, 20121:30 pm Written by Mat McDermott
പരിസ്ഥിതി സ്നേഹികള്‍ക്ക് ഒരു സന്തോഷ വാര്‍ത്ത - മലയാളികളുടെ പറുദീസയായ ദുബായ് (യു എ ഇ ) ഈ വര്‍ഷാവസാനത്തോടെ പ്ലാസ്ടിക്കുകള്‍ നിരോധിക്കാന്‍ തീരുമാനിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു - ഇതേ നിയമം നമ്മുടെ നാട്ടില്‍ നിലവിലുണ്ടെങ്കിലും പ്രാവര്‍ത്തികമാക്കുന്നതില്‍ നമുക്ക്‌ വിജയിക്കാന്‍ സാധിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. ദുബായിലെ ജീവിത രീതി ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതല്‍ സ്വാധീനിക്കുന്ന നമ്മുടെ കൊച്ചു കേരളത്തിനു തന്നെയാവും ഈ നിയമം ദുബായില്‍ വരുന്ന്തിന്റെയും നേട്ടം എന്ന് നമുക്ക്‌ പ്രത്യാശിക്കാം ...
പ്ലാസ്റ്റിക് മനുഷ്യരാശിക്ക് മുഴുവന്‍ ഭീഷണിയാണ് എന്നത് ഒന്ന് കൂടി അടിവരയിടുന്നതാണ് യു എ ഇ യുടെ ഈ തീരുമാനം. യു എ ഇ യുടെ ചുവടു പിടിച്ചു മറ്റു ജി സി സി രാഷ്ട്രങ്ങള്‍ കൂടി ഇതേ നിയമം നടപ്പിലാക്കുന്ന സമയം അതി വിദൂരമല്ല ...
നിരോധനത്തില്‍ ഉള്‍പെടുന്നവ shopping bags, packaging for food, magazines, garbage bags, shrink and pallet wrap, cling film, as well as other plastic designed to be used over short periods and discarded.
The United Arab Emirates has moved forward a ban on all disposable plastic products, except those made from oxo-biodegradable plastics, from 2013 to the end of this year.
Though oxo-biodegradable plastics cannot be composted as some biodegradable plastics can, if left in the open they will decompose within 2-18 months. In a landfill decomposition occurs much more slowly however, though still far more quickly than ordinary plastics.
The ban, enacted by the Ministry of Environment and Water, was precipitated over concerns about plastic waste in the desert and the sea, and the effect of that on wildlife.
Covered in the ban are all packaging and disposable plastic products such as shopping bags, packaging for food, magazines, garbage bags, shrink and pallet wrap, cling film, as well as other plastic designed to be used over short periods and discarded. (Packaging Gateway)
The regulation also includes a standard for registration of companies manufacturing and importing biodegradable plastics. The Intelligent SME quotes Eng. Mohammed Saleh Al Badri of the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology:
ESMA officials will visit each factory and see that the manufacturing process complies with our specification. So, basically, the raw materials, additives, and manufacturing process, will be pre-approved by us. The companies will have regular monitoring, and we will collect finished samples, as well as the ones still being made for testing. Unannounced visits will be made to ensure consistency. At this point, we don’t have a testing centre, so all samples are sent abroad, but we are encouraging labs to take up this facility within the country. This regulatory measure will ensure that all the plastic bags used in the country will be degradable to harmless substances that will not affect the environment.
East Africa Pushes For Plastic Ban
All of this comes as the East African Community legislative assembly—an intergovernmental organization for Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda—has passed ‘The East African Community Plastics Control Bill’.
If all heads of state of the member countries sign it, the bill would provide the legal framework for the outright banning of the manufacturing, sale, import and use of polyethylene material.
This post was originally published by TreeHugger.
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