Dubai’s only organic cafe and supermarket chain has announced a major step in its ongoing campaign to help the environment.

Since opening his Organic Foods and Cafe outlets in Dubai in 2005, CEO Nils El Accad has been at the forefront of the drive to convert Dubai’s shoppers to purchasing healthy, organic foods.

His stores were the first in the UAE to introduce cotton bags - giving shoppers Dhs 2 back each time they re-use them in his outlets - as well as having completely replaced the use of plastic carriers with greener alternatives - including paper bags with 40% recycled content.

Now, after extensive research and trials, his stores have this week become the first in the UAE to make a major switch to using fully biodegradable packaging. Both his retail outlets in Satwa and the Greens have now replaced traditional expanded polystyrene trays with those made from PLA - an environmentally-friendly corn-based polymer.

Packaging waste across a number of industries is a major contributor to creating the many tonnes of waste currently being crammed every week into landfill sites all over the world. Across the Gulf States there is an increasing rate of plastic consumption that is estimated to be about 40 kg per capita per year.

While some plastics can take years, even centuries, to decompose, these new biodegradable polyesters take only weeks.  In fact, in ideal conditions, the cartons and trays break down in a compost heap quicker than a banana skin.