Dubai is the most recent emirate in the United Arab Emirates to declare a ban on single-use plastic beginning on January 1, 2024, with fines of up to Dh2,000 for infractions. This follows the federal government's January 2023 statement that single-use plastic will be prohibited nationwide in the United Arab Emirates starting in 2024.
The ban's objectives are to reduce plastic use, save the environment from pollution, and control plastic use at the federal level. In an effort to promote the use of more environmentally friendly options, the government declared that consumers who use single-use plastic bags will be subject to a 25 fils, or Dh0.25, charge.
This tariff was already imposed by most of the shops in the country, on customers who chose to carry their purchases in single-use plastic bags. The pricing went into effect on July 1st in Dubai and October 1st in Sharjah in 2022. Single-use plastics were outlawed on January 1, 2023, in Umm Al Quwain and Ajman, and on January 1, 2024, in Ras Al Khaimah.
A complete ban on single-use plastic was implemented in Abu Dhabi on June 1, 2022, and a ban on Styrofoam goods followed on January 1, 2024. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi claims that during the first year of the ban, this contributed to the daily savings of 450,000 single-use plastic bags.
