Dulsco collaborates with Dubai Municipality and UNION COOP for ‘Say No to plastic bags' campaign

‘1000 re-usable bags distributed on World Environment Day in an aim to reduce plastic bags being used by consumers’

Dubai, UAE, June 15th, 2014: Dulsco today announced that they have partnered with ‘Dubai Municipality’ and ‘Union Co-operative’ for “Say no to plastic bags” campaign. This initiative aims to educate the public on the environmental impact of plastic bags and ways to reduce or avoid its usage. Through this campaign, Dulsco’s focus is to bring change in the schools and shoppers by encouraging them to use re-usable bags.

As part of this initiative, Dulsco volunteers teamed up with 14 members from Nashama UAE volunteers group to educate and raise awareness among school children and shoppers around the city. To kick-start the campaign, Dulsco distributed 1000 re-usable bags, which includes 500 bags distributed at Union Co-operative located near Safa park.  

Eng. Abdul Majeed Saifaie, Director of Waste Management department, Dubai Municipality said, “Plastic waste in the region is continuously increasing due to the increasing use of plastics in daily life. Disposal of plastic waste has emerged as an important environmental challenge in the Middle East where plastics make up for as much as one-tenth of the solid waste stream. We launched this campaign recently to educate public that non-biodegradable bags are extremely harmful to the environment. With support from partners like Dulsco and the Nashama UAE volunteering team, we are certain that we can create a healthy and safe living environment”. 

“At Union COOP we are committed to sustainable practices and we work on various programs to educate our shoppers. We are glad to partner with Dubai Municipality and Dulsco for the “Say No to plastics campaign”.  The feedback from our customers has been very positive and we look forward to being an active partner in this initiative,” added Suhail Al Bastaki, Media & Communication Manager at Union Cooperative Society.

S. Madhumohan, Director Waste Management, Dulsco said that, “About 300 million tons of plastic is produced globally each year. Only about 10 percent of that is recycled. Of the plastic that is simply trashed, an estimated seven million tons ends up in the sea each year. The first crucial step is reduction of plastic consumption. Giving re-usable bags to students and shoppers is the first step in this direction. We are very happy to be associated in this important initiative with Dubai Municipality and Union Coop. We thank the Nashama UAE volunteers group for speaking to the shoppers and explaining to them the hazards of using plastic bags, Madhumohan added.

"This initiative was a great opportunity offered by Dulsco and Dubai Municipality to the volunteers to spread the awareness among the society on the importance of using re-usable bags" said Essa Al Bedwawy, Al Nashama UAE Team Leader. "We must support one another to make our environment healthier for us and the generations to come" he added. All participating volunteers are part of a local team called Nashama UAE, which was established in 2009 to help improve different segments of the UAE community. In 2014, Nashama's vision has been re-directed to focus mainly on initiatives that give back while raising awareness of significant societal issues.