The use of plastic bags in the United Arab Emirates will be prohibited by 2012, according to a new decree issued by the country's cabinet.
As part of the proposed phase-out, the ministry of environment and water will educate consumers on substitutions to plastic bags, according to a report in the Gulf News.
Possible alternatives to plastic bags, which can take hundreds of years to break down, include jute, paper or biodegradable bags.
'This initiative will include six main areas, the most important of which is education using all media in all languages and to explain the negative impact of misusing plastic bags,' Hunaida Qaid, head of the ministry's environmental education sector, told the publication.
