Dubai's eco-conscious store goes 'greener'

Does Qatar have any outlets similar to this? If not, why not?

Dubai's eco-conscious store goes 'greener'
[source: http://archive.gulfnews.com/nation/Environment/10121401.html ]
04/27/2007 10:45 PM | Staff Report

Dubai: Fully biodegradable packaging is now being used in one of Dubai's eco-conscious stores offering shoppers an alternative to plastic-packaged foods.

The Organic Foods and Cafe outlets in Dubai are the first to have made a total switch to using fully biodegradable packaging in an on-going campaign to help the environment.

The stores have now replaced traditional expanded polystyrene trays with those made from PLA - an environmentally-friendly corn-based polymer. The biodegradable packaging decomposes in just weeks compared to years, or even centuries.

According to Nils Al Accad, founder and chief executive of The Organic Foods and Cafe there is an increasing rate of plastic consumption across the Gulf countries which is estimated to be about 40 kg per capita per year.

Packaging waste across a number of industries is a major contributor to creating the many tonnes of waste currently being crammed every week into landfill sites all over the world.

All of the trays used on the meat, fruit and vegetable counters will be made from PLA which has proven to be just as strong and effective as the polystyrene used in the past.

Since opening, Organic Foods and Cafe outlets in Dubai in 2005, the stores were the first in the UAE to introduce cotton bags, giving shoppers Dh2 back each time they re-use them in his outlets, as well as having completely replaced the use of plastic carriers with greener alternatives, including paper bags with 40 per cent recycled content.