DHL switches to eco-friendly courier bags

DHL has reiterated its commitment to sustainable development by announcing that the company will replace its regular plastic bags with new environmentally-friendly bags.

The new bags are not only stronger but are also fully reusable and recyclable and can degrade in as little as two years, leaving behind just natural elements: water, carbon dioxide and biomass.

Conventional plastic bags, on the other hand, can take up to one thousand years to degrade; increasing landfill volume and contributing to the hazardous build-up of methane in landfill sites.

The Middle East has a need to focus on environmental sustainability

The switch to biodegradable bags is part of DHL's worldwide initiative to reduce its environmental footprint across the 220 countries in which it operates. The move comes at a time when the most recent industry research indicates that the Middle East region and the UAE in particular, has an urgent need to focus on environmental sustainability.

"We are constantly seeking new ways to support sustainable development, over and above existing international conservation standards and guidelines," said Janet Jweihan, DHL Express, Country Manager for the UAE.

"One result of the UAE's rapid growth is a per-capita waste generation of around 725 kg, double that of the UK and an Environmental Performance Index, created by Yale Centre for Environmental Law, ranks the UAE as 112 out of 140 countries surveyed, in terms of poor environmental performance. As a responsible corporation, we want to positively impact on our communities and adhere to an incremental environmental strategy, of which the bio-bags initiative is one component, aimed at protecting the environment in which we live and work," concluded Jweihan.

The project consultants for the DHL initiative, the first of its kind in the Middle East, are Bahrain-based, Manama Packaging Industry. DHL operations throughout the Middle East and North Africa are committed to fully replacing the existing plastic bags with the new oxi-biodegradable bags by end of the year.