Dubai, UAE (Persian Gulf)

While microplastics (59.71 items/kg in beach sediments, 0.633mg/L in waters) challenge our ecosystems, Dubai Can’s reduction of 30M single-use bottles shows progress. Dubai Can, a citywide sustainability initiative launched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, aims to reduce single-use plastic bottle waste by encouraging refillable bottles, installing free water refill stations across the city, and promoting a culture of conscious living, with 53 stations dispensing over 15M liters of water since 2022!
 

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969723029911

2. https://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2025/february/24-02/dubai-can-cuts-single-use-plastic-water-bottle-usage

3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344925000989

4. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-024-00410-w

5. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1592801/full

6. https://www.wam.ae/en/article/15lq30r-uae-pioneering-efforts-reduce-plastic-pollution

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Photo by Cédric Dhaenens on Unsplash