From Saturday June 16, supermarket chain Waitrose will be charging customers Dh0.25 for each single-use plastic bag supplied. Initially part of a 12-week trial at five stores in Abu Dhabi, the initiative is intended to encourage residents to think more about the plastic waste they generate, which has been documented to cause huge pollution problems, especially in the sea.
Shoppers will be encouraged to bring their own bags with them when visiting the stores and Waitrose has confirmed that any and all store branding will be permissible. Each of the five locations will also feature a bag exchange, into which customers can deposit used bags for use by other shoppers. Any funds raised from the sale of bags will be put to good use in support of local charities and further sustainability drives.
The brand, which in the UAE is part of the Fine Fare Food Market group, announced that it has renewed its ‘sustainable partnership’ with Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) in association with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which was established under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan with the aim of conserving nature and reducing some of the most pressing environmental threats faced in the region.
“The UAE is a coastal country relying on healthy natural ecosystems,” remarked Abdulla Al Nuiami, director of business development and marketing at EWS. “The wellbeing of our environment is important to ensure a thriving economy and in securing our food, water, transport and energy needs. Waitrose’s commitment to building a deeper understanding of how shoppers and retailers can be more sustainable, in order to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in nature, is encouraging. We hope this is the start of many more projects that will stem the tide of plastic pollution across land and sea”.
After the trial concludes, Waitrose says it will fully analyse its effectiveness and look at the possibility of rolling it out in the rest of the UAE stores. Matthew Frost, CEO of Fine Fare Food Market said: “It’s more important than ever for companies to take responsibility for their part in helping to reduce avoidable plastic waste and we believe that in order to bring about change, we need to help our customers make small shifts in their behaviour, to eventually lead to positive habits.”
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Read more:
UN World Environment Day - in pictures
Single-use plastics to be banned under new EU proposals
UAE company designs huge plastic barrier to tackle waste in oceans
Researchers accidentally create plastic-eating enzyme
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
HAJJAN
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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