On my dish rack right now are several plastic Ziploc baggies of various sizes. After I use them, I flip them inside out, rinse them off, then stand them to dry.
They look a bit like sad jellyfish and add to the already cluttered state of my kitchen, but I can’t bring myself to throw them away.
The bags go along with the stash of plastic water bottles, most of which have lost their caps and thus can’t be re-used, but as with the bags, I can’t bring myself to throw them away. In my effort to avoid plastic waste, I seem to have become a plastic hoarder.
That's why the other day when I drove by Khalidiyah Park, just at the corner of Khaleej Al Arabi, I almost caused a traffic accident: I had to stare at the huge recycling stand, brightly colored and clearly labelled. At this stand you can rid yourself of almost anything, including old medicines and, of course, plastics. Here's hoping that this station will be emptied correctly, instead of what we've all seen elsewhere: carefully separated trash being dumped willy-nilly into one big truck.
The National given significant coverage in recent months to the issue of plastic waste in the UAE, which as a country ranks close to the top in the world in terms of waste. Unlike World Cup standings, however, this table is one where you want to hover close to the bottom. That brightly colored recycling station - if there were more of them - might help Abu Dhabi move down in the standings.
Some of you might be old enough to remember the moment in The Graduate, when an impossibly young Dustin Hoffman receives career advice: “Plastics,” he’s told, “there’s a great future in plastics.”
It’s true: plastic has become the future, and not just because of the technology that invented it. The new-fangled Tupperware from that 1967 film is probably still around, forty years into the future: plastic takes more than 100 years to break down, if it breaks down at all.
According to an article last year in The National, of the 80 million tonnes of waste generated in the country, plastics makes up about a third. And that straw you're using right now to sip your Starbucks coffee concoction? It's never going to vanish; it's too small for standard recycling and yet we utilize 50,000,000 straws every day.
A friend of mine came back from a trip to Morocco the other day and showed me a small cloth sack, so simple in its outline that children could stitch it together in minutes. He said these sacks are what get used in grocery stores and vegetable stands all over the country instead of plastic. Simple and small enough to stash in a pocket, these bags raise the question of why Abu Dhabi can’t follow suit.
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Read more:
Recycling in Abu Dhabi is about to get a lot more efficient
Waitrose Abu Dhabi trial sees 75 per cent drop in plastic bag use
Abu Dhabi's growing waste problem
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We could blame the bottled-water manufacturers, or Starbucks for this plastics problem, or maybe we should blame lemons, which come singly and are thus hard to carry unless they’re in a sack.
Unfortunately, however, the plastics problem stems from us, and our inherent desire to take the path of least resistance, a path made smooth by the magic of plastic. It’s hard to resist those handy-dandy bags, straws, cutlery—all those symbols of “convenience,” but you know what will be a serious inconvenience? Dead oceans.
When you measure your need for a plastic fork against “the ocean,” doesn’t the fork seem like something you don’t need to include with your delivery order? I know, I know, we all say “it’s just one fork” – but we all say “it’s just one straw” and suddenly we have enough straws to circle the globe several times over.
That recycling station outside Khalidiyah Park will become a regular stop on my errand rotation, although I am still going to wash out and re-use my baggies. And when I can’t use them any longer, I might just stash them in the back closet.
It’s not convenient, but I don’t want to risk my old baggies becoming deadly snack for some innocent sea-bird, and I’m willing to risk spilling my Starbucks on my shirt in order to prevent that bright green straw ending up wedged in some turtle’s nose.
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
THE%20JERSEYS
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The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Champions League last 16, first leg
Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Scoreline
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (53')
Atletico Madrid 1
Griezmann (57')
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani