Lessening our impact

Consumers are wising up to how many single-use plastics we actually go through, and how bad for the environment they are. In the UAE, we made huge strides in 2018 – countless restaurants and cafes took plastic straws and bottles off the menus; supermarket chain Waitrose began trialling a charge for plastic carrier bags in Abu Dhabi; and Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort became the first hotel in the UAE to ban all single-use plastics throughout its premises. In 2019, we hope to see shops tackle packaging on products (bananas wrapped in plastic is an abomination), and for restaurants to pay attention to takeaway boxes. Other trends in this vein include eating more local produce and buying from socially conscious brands.