The Sustainable City in Dubai, the first fully sustainable development in the region announced a new community initiative to eliminate plastic pollution and divert single-use plastic waste from landfills. The Plastic for Fabric campaign encourages residents of Dubai’s most eco-conscious community to collect and convert their single-use plastic to make reusable shopping bags. This has a double purpose – to reduce waste and to support the nationwide tariff on single-use plastic bags that will be introduced on July 1, 2022. The initiative is also in line with Dubai Can, launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai to eliminate single-use plastic bottles.

The Sustainable City’s Plastic for Fabric bags are made from 100% recycled PET plastic, collected by children living in the community, and Sanad Village, the community’s rehabilitation centre for autism and other related disorders. Once collected, the plastic is sent for recycling and converted into fabric shopping bags. The bags are then distributed in collection points around the community and are going to be circulated for all The Sustainable City deliveries from Zoom Supermarket.

Salah Habib, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Developers, said, “We are proudly committed to supporting the national target to completely ban all disposable bags in the UAE by 2024. As a leading player in sustainability, we understand the importance of implementing sustainable best practices across all our communities. To date, we have already successfully eliminated all kinds of single-use plastic from restaurants in The Sustainable City and now, working closely with our partners, we are phasing out plastic bags. We will continue to positively impact our communities, and play our role in making the nation one of the most sustainable destinations in the world”.

The Sustainable City’s Plastic for Fabric campaign will not only encourage residents to reduce their plastic waste and switch to reusable containers, but it will also offset approximately 497 grams of carbon dioxide per reusable bag. Over the long term, the campaign will lead to a significant reduction in the circulation of single-use plastic bags. Estimates show that one reusable bag replaces approximately 500 single-use plastic bags over a one-year period. The Sustainable City already began the campaign against single-use plastic bags in 2018, when residents began making Boomerang Bags from donated fabric as a free, fun and sustainable alternative to plastic bags. The Plastic for Fabric campaign takes that to the next level by encouraging the re-use of single-use and contributing positively to Dubai’s commitment to protecting the ecosystem.