DUBAI, 22nd August, 2022 (WAM) — Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) today held its fourth-panel discussion under the theme “Taking Packaging, Full Circle”, at the Sheraton Mall of the Emirates Hotel in Dubai.
The panel discussion highlighted the UAE efforts to apply technologies and best innovations in the packaging industry towards sustainable actions.
“In the current anthroposphere dominating the world of accelerated economy, and amidst the exceptionally rapid production–disposal cycle in a supply chain, the volume of waste plastic on Earth has surpassed the measure of any known material waste,” Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Co-Founder and Chairperson, EEG, said in her opening speech.
Al Mar’ashi stated that a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) study shows that global plastic production now averages over 400 million metric tonnes per year, which is an astounding increase compared to the 1.5 million metric tonnes produced in 1950. “Currently, it is estimated that 8-12 million tonnes of plastic leak into the seas. Plastic waste is found in the guts of over 90 percent of the world’s sea birds, in the stomach of more than half of the world’s sea turtles, and is also found to choke whales, according to National Geographic.”
“Developing a circular economy and limiting pollution requires multilevel actions by different stakeholders. Building a concerted and collaborative initiative that includes all relevant stakeholders (packaging producers, food companies, retailers, and consumers) is the need of the hour,” she added.
The session was conducted in association with Arabia Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Network, and supported by Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC), World Packaging Organisation (WPO), Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC), and the Swiss Business Council.