The Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was completely freed from the scourge that flew throughout the resort and turned its surroundings into post-apocalyptic landscapes. We are talking about plastic bags – tourists have always been amazed by the amount of this plastic garbage in the resort, which was carried by the wind. And the outskirts of the Egyptian resort, littered with discarded packages, recently became the “heroes” of reports and shots on social networks. As a result, the local authorities declared a war on plastic — and the other day reported success.
“The city of Sharm el-Sheikh is free of single-use plastic bags,” Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmin Fouad and South Sinai Governor Major General Khaled Fouad said at a press conference at the resort, according to local media. As the Minister of the Environment stated, seminars and information campaigns were held for this purpose for all owners of restaurants and shops in the resort, as well as for the service personnel who live there. Residents were also offered a free alternative — including 10,000 fabric bags and 350,000 paper bags were distributed, in total about 1 million “alternative” products were sold, and this campaign will continue.
As the Egyptian Minister of the Environment added, the problem of single-use plastic bags is not only in “unaesthetic” landscapes: this piece of plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose, but even then it will “turn into small plastic particles that release toxins into the soil and water.” “Marine life and ecosystems are threatened by plastic particles, which are found in huge quantities in the oceans,” the expert said.
Egypt is generally working to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. The plan is to reduce their production to 100 bags per capita per year by 2025 and to 50 bags per person by 2030, the minister also said.