The Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has completely freed itself from the misfortune that flew throughout the resort and turned its surroundings into post-apocalyptic landscapes. We are talking about plastic bags – tourists have always been amazed at the abundance of this plastic garbage in the resort, which was carried by the wind. And the surroundings of the Egyptian resort, dotted with discarded packages, have recently become “heroes” of reports and frames on social networks. As a result, local authorities declared war on plastic – and recently reported on their success.
“The city of Sharm El Sheikh is free of single-use plastic bags,” Egyptian Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad and South Sinai Governor Major General Khaled Fouad said at a press conference at the resort, according to local media. As stated by the Minister of the Environment, for this purpose, seminars and information campaigns were held for all owners of restaurants and shops in the resort, as well as for the service personnel living there. Also, a free alternative was offered to local residents, including 10,000 fabric bags and 350,000 paper bags, and about 1 million “alternative” products were sold, and this campaign will continue.
As she added Egyptian Minister of the Environment, 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 “turns 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 as a whole is working to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. In terms of reducing their production to 100 bags per capita per year by 2025 and to 50 bags per person by 2030, the minister also said.
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