Reusable bags would help save the environment

The UAE is a country full of opportunities, but despite its relatively small population, it is quite high on the pollution index.

I have read that Kenya has put a ban on plastic bags in a bid to limit waste. This is a smart step for that developing country.

After the United Kingdom put a small charge on every plastic bag, the number of them being used dropped by more than 85 per cent.

Who hasn’t been in a shop and seen just one item put into a plastic bag? Or received a takeaway from a restaurant and found the bag loaded with countless ketchup packets, tissues, plastic cutlery and so on?

I would like to see a reward system where a certain number of plastic bags returned to the shop would take money off your bill. Or perhaps there could be a pricing strategy that makes people turn towards reusable bags.

While renewable energy is making gains here, the transition will be slow unless people’s habits change.

Let’s protect, safeguard and promote the environment. B Welling, Dubai