Qatar to introduce on eco friendly bags
Qatar's hypermarkets are all set to take on the Plastic Solid Waste (PSW) menace, the biggest environmental problem faced by the country.
At least three popular hypermarkets in Qatar are making efforts to reduce the amount of plastic carry bags they use. Another major retail outlet has already introduced high-quality "biodegradable" plastic bags.
Alarmed by the growing menace of PSW, Qatar's pioneer hypermarket Family Food Centre is busy exploring the possibility of introducing either re-usable carry bags or plastic bags.
"We cannot say when we will introduce the eco-friendly carry bags. The discussion is progressing with some consultancies. ", Family Food Centre sources told The Peninsula.
Carrefour is the retail outlet that set the 'plastic-free carry bag' trend in Qatar. The outlet charges QR2 for a bag and it has become a big hit, especially among the European community.
"We are planning a mega campaign against the plastic menace with the support of some government agencies, including Qatar Foundation.", said Lulu Hypermarket's Regional Director, Mohammed Althaf.
Althaf said Lulu launched A-Grade bio-degradable plastic carry bags in July 2008. "We chose Qatar to introduce our eco-friendly biodegradable carry bags. We will soon introduce it at our other outlets, including in the UAE, in the coming months", he said.
However, another leading hypermarket, which has also vowed to combat the plastic bag menace, took exception with the UAE hypermarkets' "reduction experiment'' of selling carry bags. "We don't think it is a practical solution. The volume of our daily customers ranges from 15,000 to 20,000. Each customer will need an average five to ten carry bags. It will not be in the interest of the customers to charge QR2 for each carry bag", a representative said.
But customers are wholeheartedly welcoming the initiative. "Eco-friendly bags make you feel that you are part of a mission to protect the environment. The hypermarkets' decisions are worth emulating for the smaller outlets", said Elizabeth, an official of Qatar Petroleum (QP).
Studies have revealed that Qatar has the highest amount of plastic solid waste per capita in the Gulf region. Qatar's rapid growth and urbanization have increased the rate of waste generation dramatically. The per capita solid waste generation of Qatar is 4kg. By global standards this figure is very high. In comparison, the waste generated by Singapore per capita is less than 2kg.
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