Hotelier Middle East – August 2019

HOTELIER MIDDLE EAST | August 2019 | Volume 18 Issue 08

BRANDVIEW

52

TIME’S UP FOR PLASTIC BAGS

Can single-use plastic finally be consigned to the landfill of history?

Dubai-based firm Purecog believes it has the solution the world has been waiting for

EMAIL: [email protected] WEB: WWW.PURECOG.COM

Images of fi lthy beaches strewn with

plastic and marine life choking on

plastic bags has made an indelible

impact on millions across the globe,

and yet our reliance on single-use

plastic has continued unabated.

According to the Environment

Agency-Abu Dhabi, the average

UAE resident uses 1,182 plastic

bags per year – triple the global

average. And what happens with all

this plastic? 91% of it ends up in our

oceans or in landfi lls, permanently

staining the environment.

As conventional plastic is

not biodegradable, all it does is

breakdown into small pieces called

microplastics which can be toxic

and can easily end up in our food

or water supply. The painful result

is felt both around the world and

locally. In the UAE, 50% of all camel

deaths are attributable to single-

use plastics.

Step forward Purecog. The

Dubai-based sustainable tech

company has pioneered a new form

of thin-fi lm plastic replacement

water-soluble bags which could

mean an end to wasteful and

damaging single-use plastics.

WHAT IS PURECOG'S SOLUTION?

Environmentally friendly,

Hydroplast bags are created from

a polymer which is everything

plastic isn’t. Water-soluble.

Biodegradable. Compostable.

Recyclable. Sustainable. Marine

safe. Rather than spending

thousands of years in a landfi ll, or

destroying our oceans, Hydroplast

bags can be dissolved safely, and

instantly, in water.

Below 63°c, whether in water or

landfi ll, Hydroplast takes an absolute

maximum of 1 year to fully break

down. At 63°c and above, Hydroplast

breaks down immediately into

its original and natural state of

hydrogen, carbon and oxygen.

Completely harmless elements.

It is in fact so clean that when

dissolved in water it is 100% safe

for human consumption.

All of our commonly used

plastics are hydrophobic (water

hating) which means they resist the

water they are in and attract other

hydrophobic materials to them

such as pesticides and other toxins.

This allows for these plastics to

concentrate toxins in combination

with longevity – a perfect storm.

Hydroplast’s material is hydrophilic

(water liking) and has no propensity

to attract toxins or form micro

plastics and is itself non-toxic to

marine fauna as defi ned by tests

conducted by the Open University.

BOTTOM-LINE BENEFITS

As well as causing zero damage to

our environment at the end of their

life, Hydroplast products are actually

more than twice as strong as typical

thin-fi lm plastic – making them

both the sustainable and practical

Beaches littered with single-use plastic have

become an all too common sight.

The deserts of Dubai are not

immune to plastic waste.