Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad, and Governor of South Sinai, Khaled Fouda, declared the city of Sharm El-Sheikh free of single-use plastic bags, in a press conference in the Old Market Square in Sharm El-Sheikh, a few weeks ahead of the COP27.
This came in the presence of Alessandro Fracasiti, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Program Development (UNDP), Tobias Krause, the Deputy Ambassador of the European Union to Egypt and representatives of the concerned authorities and the media.
During the conference, Fouad confirmed that many measures have been taken to limit the use of single-use plastic bags to protect the environment and marine life and for the benefit of citizens.
“Foremost of these efforts was the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to prepare the national strategy to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags, which was adopted in 2021 and was the result of the work of all the relevant ministries,” she added.
The Minister of Environment explained that the strategy requires preparing legislation and laws represented in article 27 of the law regulating waste management, which provides for a gradual reduction in the use of single-use plastic bags.
She noted that stopping the use of single-use plastic bags was not an easy matter, but requires much effort to change the prevailing culture and clarify the danger of bags to marine life and the environment.
“As each ton of plastic bags equals the death and impact of 3 tons of marine organisms,” the minister said.
Fouad listed the procedures taken to turn Sharm El-Sheikh into a city free from single-use plastic bags, the most important of which is the organization of workshops and awareness campaigns for citizens and owners of shops and restaurants in the city.
This helped to raise environmental awareness among citizens, shop owners and students, as well as distributing alternatives to plastic bags such as fabric bags.
