Traveling through Dubai's two city airports will be different as of 1st January 2020. In 21 days, Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport will work towards permanently eliminating all single-use plastics. The city is working off a self-dictated single-use plastic ban to remove these plastics from its airports.

Dubai joins the masses

Dubai becomes the latest tourist destination to join the green movement and eliminate single-use plastics from its operations. It follows on the heels of airports like Dallas Fort Worth who have already made changes of their own. Plastic bottle bans and removal of plastic straws are quite common these days, but Dubai's airports have gone a step further.

Rather than banning just one item of single-use plastic like some airports, Dubai has joined Atlanta International in banning every single-use plastic within the vicinity. That means that through all the shops, restaurants and services in both of Dubai's airports, you will not find any single-use plastic. No more polythene bags, plastic cutlery, straws or plastic take-away food packaging.

Dubai's airports will be more environmentally friendly. Photo: giggel via Wikimedia Commons

The Executive Vice President Commercial at Dubai Airports said that the move had been a long time coming. However, he expected that the outcome would be successful. In a company statement, Eugene Barry said the following:

“This pledge is another step on a long journey to becoming a more environmentally responsible airport. Along with our partners, including global brands such as McDonalds, Costa Coffee and Starbucks, we are committed to not only removing single-use plastics but in their place providing appropriate and importantly sustainable alternatives.”

The airport said that it has worked with over 250 service providers to ensure sustainable alternatives are used in every aspect of Dubai's airport operations. The move is expected to help the airport clean its environmental footprint and update its profile along with the shift towards more planet-friendly lifestyles.

A modern-day 'catch 22'

While this eco-friendly move is admirable, putting the policy into place was not without its difficulties. The official changeover from waste to environmental protection will begin at the start of the new year. Over the course of the ensuing twelve months, the city will work to remove all single-use plastics from vendors at the airports.

The McDonalds branch in Dubai will be replacing over 5.6 million single-use plastic items with eco-friendly alternatives. And Costa Coffee will swap its 2.6 million annual plastic-lined cup allotment for plant-smart alternatives.

Finding alternatives for plastic bottles was the most difficult task. Photo: Bristol green Party via Flickr

But Eugene Barry said that making the move to go green did present some challenges. In particular, it was plastic bottle replacements which were the hardest to come by. But the airports have found a solution which they are keeping under tight wraps.

The Dubai Airports press release hinted at a new partnership that will make recycling plastic bottles more responsible. We asked Dubai Airports for details of the partnership. It told Simple Flying that the partnership will be announced sometime in February.

It goes without saying that the best intentions do not always make for the easiest choices. However, these days we are seeing more and more airlines favor the environment over the amount of time and effort it takes to make sustainability a reality.

What do you make of Dubai's commitment to ban single-use plastics in its airports? Let us know in the comments!