A project by a group of schoolgirls has turned into their mission to have microbeads, small pieces of plastic that are found in exfoliants and household cleaners, banned in the UAE as a matter of urgency.
ABU DHABI // A UAE school project raising awareness of the impact of microbeads might pale into insignificance in comparison to a US government ban and an impending one in the UK.
But the girls involved are hoping their efforts travel far.
Microbeads, commonly found in beauty products with exfoliating properties, are tiny pieces of plastic made from polyethylene that are small enough to pass through municipality filtration systems.
An academic article in the journal Science last year estimated that products containing microbeads and other plastics dump about 8 million tonnes of plastic into our oceans every year – equal to the weight of about 1.5 million elephants.
Pupils at the Universal American School of Dubai started the project as a class assignment but have since been encouraged to raise awareness on a topic they believe is neglected.
“It’s not something that is obvious to lots of people and a lot of people don’t know that they might be consuming plastics every single day,” said Jana Ali, a pupil working on the project.
The pupils echoed the scientific community’s findings in recent years that plastics that end up in the ocean are regularly ingested by marine life, possibly even more so if they are microplastics.
The petrochemical beads can then end up on our plates when we eat seafood.
“It has been estimated that an average plate of oysters could contain up to 50 plastic particles,” said Prof Tamara Galloway, of the ecotoxicology department at the University of Exeter in the UK.
“We don’t yet have any evidence for the harm that this might cause but most people would probably prefer not to be eating plastic in their food.”
The risk for the environment and health prompted US president Barack Obama to outlaw microbeads last year, with the UK and Canada following suit by the end of this year.
But the UAE as yet has no legislation governing the use of microbeads.
A survey of several supermarkets in the UAE found the products readily available in cosmetic products and household cleaning supplies.
Some companies, however, knowing the effects on health and the environment, have taken pledges to halt the use of the gimmicky product to lessen their environmental impact.
A list of companies involved can be found at beatthemicrobead.org/en.
The girls at the Universal American School say that microbeads are not even necessary as their effects can easily be replaced.
“You don’t need to exfoliate using these products alone, you can just as easily get a wash cloth that can have the same result,” said Layla Atallah, a pupil working on the project.
Greenpeace has welcomed the US ban but said that the same attention should be given to other plastics.
“Ocean plastic does not disappear by itself, so for every bit that ends up in the ocean, it means more cleaning up – with much of it impossible to tackle at all,” the Greenpeace website says.
“Not to mention that if you eat fish some of this plastic could end up on your dinner plate.”
A ban of microplastics in the UAE could be heralded as a step towards improving the country’s waste disposal mechanisms, as was outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions agreement.
The NDC was a legally binding agreement that the UAE pledged at Cop21 in Paris last year and further reinforced during Cop22 in Morocco. It is part of a bigger plan to limit global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels by 2050.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
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Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
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Creator: Jenna Lamia
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Jawan
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The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
On sale: now
Price: Dh149,000
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The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
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Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
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Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
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Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
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Rating: 2.5/5
