Alexandria to be declared soon free of single-use plastic bags

CAIRO – 19 April 2022: The Environmental Affairs Agency in Alexandria is preparing to launch the "No to Plastic Bags" initiative, under the auspices of the Minister of Environment, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, in preparation for declaring Alexandria free of plastic bags.

The initiative will work to prevent plastic bags from entering the beaches, and replace them with safe alternatives, while setting a timetable to prevent the distribution of free plastic bags, or those that violate standard specifications.

An intensive campaign to raise awareness of the initiative will also be implemented, to warn against the danger of plastic bags to the environment and public health.

The initiative also includes support for the production of safe alternatives, and support for plastic bag manufacturers, with the various technologies needed to manufacture other bags, provided that they are fully biodegradable, while defining the short- and long-term phases of the initiative.

This initiative comes within the efforts of the Ministry of Environment to eliminate single-use plastic bags.

In March, Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad announced that Sharm El-Sheikh would be a city completely free of single-use plastic bags as of this June, in parallel with various other measures to turn it into a green city.

This coincides with Egypt’s preparation to host the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) this November, which will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh.