Inspiring Climate Action Since 2009
Tribe, back in 2015, when I first started attempting to go Zero Waste in UAE, it was not an easy task and required a lot of searching and looking for places around the UAE. We still don’t have an entire package free shop or plastic-free store. But I am more than happy to bring you this most awaited guide to Zero Waste Shopping in UAE, which also one of our most popular posts. Before we start discussing more zero waste, read here how with simple lifestyle changes you can beat plastic pollution.
Before I start listing where to buy zero waste in UAE, have a read about UAE’s waste statistics, which will give you an idea of why do we need to go zero waste here in UAE. Reading a beginner’s guide to zero waste lifestyle will also help you to prepare mentally before you start going zero waste.
Watch this vlog where I am shopping Zero Waste in a few supermarkets, it’s a great practical guide for newbies.
To start buying zero waste, first, you have to have your own zero waste shopping kit. Here are the things you can have in your zero waste shopping kit, but not all are necessary. You can get creative to replace a few things or reduce the size of your zero waste shopping kit. Basically, these are zero waste swaps for your typical packing materials.
My Zero Waste Shopping Kit
My zero-waste shopping kit has a lot of drawstring linen or cotton bags which I bought from Ikea a few years back. You can also find cloth produce bags with some designs in Daiso or Carrefour. I don’t recommend investing in nylon or polymer produce bags as that material is not natural and takes longer to decompose, not really an authentic zero waste swap. You will need to wash your produce bags once in a while especially if you use them for items that you eat directly without washing like bread. Then a few glass jars, I don’t really buy jars, I reuse the jars of packaged honey, jam, pickles, etc. Beeswax wrap and zip lock snack bags are useful but to be honest not very necessary if you have enough bags and jars. Lastly, cloth tote bags, which I have been using for more than 12 years now.
I won’t really recommend you to run for shopping to create your zero-waste shopping kit, that will defeat the purpose of going zero waste. You can start using whatever reusable items you already have at home, those can be plastic boxes from your pantry, and start reducing further packaging waste coming to your home straight away. From your experience, you will realize what all you need in your zero waste shopping kit and most importantly remember to carry your shopping kit on every (grocery) shopping trip. I always keep these few reusable items in my handbag, which is always useful to buy a few items on the go especially when my zero waste shopping kit is not with me.
Now, most of the zero waste warriors around the world do bulk shopping, but when you are in UAE remember things might not be the same. The first thing we have to think is most of the food you get in stores of the UAE comes from someplace far off, apart from some vegetables and milk products. So if you are buying bulk and end up wasting it, you are not just wasting food but also all the resources used to reach that food to your home like fuel used for transportation of food from far away place to the UAE. Also, the weather conditions of UAE, might not allow you store even non-perishable food for a very long time which might be the case in your home country, especially if you are saving energy by switching off the air conditioning when not at home like us, which has a higher direct positive impact on the environment.
So think carefully about what to buy in bulk and what not. For example, in my household, there are certain things I buy in bulk, and certain things I prefer buying in a smaller portion. Rice, honey, pulses, spices, etc I buy in bulk as we consume them on a regular basis. I started buying honey in bulk for a few reasons, firstly we use it on a daily basis in drinks and also for my natural beauty care needs. The smaller packs come in plastic bottles and the bulk comes in a glass jar. Now I get to reuse these glass jars once honey is consumed and I can avoid at least 3 plastic bottles if I buy honey in a glass jar. Over one year by buying honey in a bulk glass jar, I avoided buying a total of 28 plastic bottles! That is the magic of bulk if you do it wisely.
Highly recommend reading how to reduce food waste at your home. Every zero waste shopper needs to give enough importance to reducing food waste first, as food waste has higher negative impacts when it comes to waste.
For vegetables and fruits, it’s very easy to buy zero-waste in UAE. Just carry your own produce bags and buy loose vegetables and fruits. Till now I never had any issues with this, rather at my regular store staff are very co-operative. At the weighing scale station, it takes a little longer as I keep multiple types of fruits and vegetables in one drawstring bag so the staff has to weigh them separately and put stickers on the bag. I have rarely seen people behind me complaining, rather many consumers get inspired, either they reduce their plastic bags immediately or even talk to me about it.
Some readers ask me what do I do when fruits are pre-packed in a foam tray and wrapped with plastic cling film. I simply avoid buying those fruits and buy strictly loose. Generally, every shop has a loose selection, and remember they mostly wrap those packages in their stores. So if I need to buy particular fruit which is only pre-packed, I simply request staff mentioning I don’t use plastic and use only reusable bags to buy my things. Most times the staff co-operate, if the staff is less confident to help me or tells me it’s not allowed, I talk to their supervisor or even the store manager. Once they know the exact reason they co-operate. You might need little extra time for the first few zero waste shopping trips, but once it’s established you can do it in your regular shopping time. I have bought package-free fruits and vegetables from almost all supermarkets and grocery stores in the UAE.
Farmer’s market which is organized every Friday in winter months is my most favorite place for authentic organic and local produce. The ripe market is a good place to buy package free vegetables every Saturday even in the summer months. Union co-op has a great range of organic & local produce. Other places to buy zero waste fruits and veggies are Organic Foods and Cafe, Waitrose, Lulu, Spinneys, Carrefour, Geant. Fruits and vegetable market in Dubai or almost every emirate, great for bulk shopping if you have an event or guest over.
By rough calculations, our family has said no to 7,500 plastic bags in 5 years
You can pick your own organic harvest at Farm 182 in Al Rahba city in Abu Dhabi or other farms like Emirates Bio Farm in Dubai. But if you are buying vegetables from a supermarket just remember to buy fruits and vegetables from nearby places than any far-off countries to reduce carbon footprint. I even give preference to hydroponically produced vegetables like tomatoes, if you look for it carefully, you will find boards. Hydroponics is more sustainable farming in the UAE than the traditional one. Why? read more on hydroponics farming in the UAE here.
Happy to go zero waste
Ripe Market in Dubai & 182 Al Rahba City in Abu Dhabi
You can buy package-free bread in almost all those stores, where they have their own bakery like Union-co-op, Waitrose, Spinneys, Carrefour just bring your own clean cotton bag or bee wax wrap or containers.
You can always find fewer options of package-free loose cheese or you can find those counters for local Arabic cheese & pickles. Best places for package free cheese Organic foods & cafe, Waitrose, Lulu, Union Co-op, Carrefour.
Union Co-Op, Carrefour, Al Adil, Sparmarket near Media One Hotel, Bioorganic store in Barsha Heights, Grandiose supermarket and even Carrefour have these counters.
Union Co-Op has gram flour, rice powder. For wheat flour Al Adil in Al Barsha. Flour Mills in Abu Dhabi
Union Co-Op, Organic Foods & Cafe. But my favorite is Al Adil for the Indian variety of rice.
For Pasta, check out Grandiose in Al Barsha.
Tealand, Dubai Festival City. Teavana in Abu Dhabi Yas Mall
Carrefour, RAW coffee (it’s also ethically sourced), Al Rifai Roastery in Abu Dhabi
Carrefour, Union Co-op, Blossom Honey or Sabha Honey in Abu Dhabi.
Waitrose, Lulu, Carrefour, Bio Organic store, Grandiose supermarket are the places where you can buy package free plain or roasted nuts and dried fruits. In Waitrose you can find prunes, in Lulu, you can find spicy roasted nuts. There are many roasteries across UAE, I am sure they will co-operate to provide package-free products once you talk to them.
Like chia seeds, flax seeds, quinoa you need to go to Union Co-Op and Organic Foods & Cafe.
Carrefour, any juice center in Malls around the UAE.
Carrefour, Organic Foods & Cafe, Fish markets.
The best place to buy package-free spices & herbs is spice souq in Deira Dubai, it’s also a cultural experience and must for any visitor to the UAE. There is a new store at Al Seef Dubai, Zafarana, where you get a similar cultural experience like spice souq.
You can also find loose spices or spice powders in Union co-op, Carrefour, Bzar & Bhar in Mushrif Mall Abu Dhabi. For fresh herbs, you can grow your own herbs in a window or balcony garden. You can also re-grow some herbs and veggies from scraps, read more about growing your own organic garden.
Vom Fass J3 Mall in Dubai, Grandiose, Carrefour.
Vom Fass J3 Mall Dubai, Mawasim organic supermarket in Abu Dhabi, Carrefour is another great place. Better to take an empty bottle where the weight is marked like 750ml etc so that it’s easy for staff in busy Carrefour.
Organic foods and cafes have large oat flakes.
Lulu, specialty chocolate shops like Godiva.
When you are going zero waste, the best option is to use natural ingredients for cleaning instead of store-bought items. Baking powder, vinegar, lime are the best options for cleaning most of the surfaces and things at home. Read here how you can use lemon peels to clean your kitchen.
I refill toilet cleaners, hand-wash soap in my own containers at Organic Foods and Cafe. You can find cleaning products refill stations at Tavola shops, Carrefour, and in some Choitrams.
You can buy naked soaps, conditioner bars, and shampoo bars at Lush cosmetics. Locally made soaps from camel soap and factory come in jute pouch which can be reused to store something else. For cheaper options, you can buy natural soaps wrapped in paper packaging and recycle the wrapping paper
When you are buying things in your own containers especially food, you need to weigh your container first and after weighing the container with a food item in it, just subtract the weight of the container to get the weight of the item you need to purchase. It’s simple maths, but actually, weighing scales have the option to set up the weight of your container to make this process easy.
So give the store staff some time to figure it out if they are doing it the first time and help them or explain what exactly you want; as it is still very rare to shop with your own containers in UAE. If the store staff is hesitating or not co-operating, just talk to their supervisors. In places like Waitrose, you can do this process on your own next to the nuts and dry fruits refillable counter.
Being almost a first zero-waste warrior in UAE, I found it tough at the start in late 2015. But my only goal during every grocery shopping trip is been not to take ‘No’ for an answer. So by now, you won’t be surprised if I tell you, many staff in my regular supermarkets and grocery stores know me and my (weird) requests very well. I just wish and hope more and more people in the UAE start saying no to plastic packaging if not going zero waste as for now.
If you want to not just ditch packaging but ditch shopping altogether. Here is one option, make your own healthier products, where you can control all the ingredients going into your products, and compost the remaining organic waste. Truly zero waste alternatives!
Here are some of Tribe’s top home-made recommendations, along with their DIY tutorials
Find more about our #ZeroWasteUAE Social Initiative which is created to reduce waste and bring a positive change in the UAE. Any individuals or organizations can be part of it.
Here is a recycling guide for UAE, which is the first and very important step in zero waste lifestyle.
Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe & join our Tribe, as I am going to update this Zero Waste Shopping Guide every now and then to list newer places who can help us reducing waste. If you know any place in the UAE where you can buy things package-free, please let me know in the comments below.
Note: This post will be regularly updated like our Second-Hand Shopping Guide, so please let’s know your zero-waste shopping finds in the comments below. Let’s help our community to live more sustainably.
Amruta Kshemkalyani, an expert sustainability professional turned social entrepreneur, is the founder of the Sustainability Tribe, AK Sustainability
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What a practical and extremely useful directory Amruta. Saw the bulk honey display in Carrefour here in AD before the summer and thought it looked fab. The lady did say we had to use the jars provided though – the next challenge for me to undertake!
Go for it Shea, it’s not as difficult as it sounds this zero waste or less waste. As long as we are mindful of our old habits and start taking conscious actions one thing or one day at a time, we can reduce waste from our life.
Such an informative post Amruta! Come to think of it, these are simple resources and measures, most of them right under our nose. But we never end up thinking about them until an eco warrior like you comes along and gives us a little nudge. Well done for all the effort you make in promoting your cause.
You are right there are many such simple solutions but till we give a thought to it, we never adopt those solutions and carry our life with the problem of waste. So glad to hear that I could give a little push.
Thank you for this comprehensive guide! I’m going to share it forward.
Thanks Tarana for spreading the word!
This is a brilliant idea to implement in our household 🙂 great tips Amruta!
Thanks. Sure start one change at a time and you can reduce waste from your life Diorella!
LOVE this article. So happy to find out about you. This year I committed to not buying anything new and I am loving not shopping and finding novel ways to get what I need like going to second hand stores. I would love to do an interview with you and invite you to speak at my festival http://www.yogafest.me/yogafestdubai. Please contact me if you are interested. I sell many of these products on my website.
Hi Elaine, how lovely to meet like-minded people. I emailed you hope you received it? I would love to talk at Yogafest Dubai. Look forward to talking to you soon.
Thanks for sharing!!! So I’m not the only ‘crazy’ person in town!!! Appreciate the tips and look forward to your updates
Leonora, not at all you are not the only one. Join our facebook page zerowasteuae and you will find some other UAE residents who have joined our initiative. 🙂
Amruta, thank you for doing such a great job! What a breeze of the fresh air to find person like you, so brave and determined! And living a life aligned with your beliefs. I must admit that after moving to UAE I did forget about my efforts to live a substanable life… It is different here: the abundance and lack of ecological education might fog people awareness about our environment. But that is not an excuse and I think it’s time for people to wake up and take the responsability for it. I would love to meet you and make… Read more »
Thank you, Lina! Like you said it’s important to look through the fog and stay focused on right things, that is what I do. Please do get in touch with me via email (see contact us page) and I would like to hear your ideas or involve you in some projects.
Thank you for this article. I have recently started plastic-free life and you definitely gave me lots of ideas how to do this.
Hello, this website is so useful! I am a 13 year old from England and Wales and I have been looking for a few years now for bulk shops in Dubai and have only got partial bulk section, mainly only for nuts and rice etc. I’d like to encourage the young generation to go as zero waste as possible, and it starts with food! Thank you. Also, I waswondering if it would ever be possible for you to do a speech at my school? Email me if possible. Thank you so much!
Hi Rhiannon, glad to know that you finally found the information you were looking for. I always give talks in schools as I love raising awareness of our future citizens, so feel free to drop me a line or connect me to your school authorities. You’ll find my details in ‘contact us’ section of the website, check header menu of this page.
Thanks for the guide. It was useful. Thanks for the tips and suggestions.
Glad you found it useful!
i stay in Dubai and am really amazed to see how much plastic we use, practically at every step. thanks for this article, as i was in search of places where they sell loose products. i would love to join this initiative and take steps to improve our earth!!
Hi Anupama, so glad you are interested joining our initiative, it’s simple just subscribe to our website and start following our social media channels so that you won’t miss any new updates regarding going zero waste tips or any future events, workshops or volunteering opportunities. Also do your bit by sharing zero waste tips by sharing it with your friends and family, we want more and more people to join this initiave and bring a change in UAE’s consumer demand. Do drop us message or comments if you need any more info. All the best!
Hi Amruta! Just found your blog and I found it so inspiring! Loved reading all the details of how to go plastic-free! Thank you for sharing! I have been in the UAE for 7 yrs…and have gone to long with accepting plastic waste….just because it’s easier.
Hi Ana, thank you for lovey words. I agree, convenience is the reason behind many wasteful habits, but believe me once you start this kind of lifestyle you always find your own convenient ways, which are best suited to you. I would recommend you start with small steps and you can surely reduce some waste. 🙂
Thank you for this! There’s very useful info in here. I usually shop at Union Co-op and I’m going to try some of your ideas. I’ve had no luck with berries though – I find that they always come packed. Any tips Amruta?
Hi Jal, that’s true berries are generally pre-packaged. I reuse-repurpose those berry boxes in fridge/garden and in end you can recycle them. Farmers market is best for package free shopping in winter, but not sure if berries are regularly available and another location is fruites and vegetables market if you want berries in larger quantity (I am hoping you can find there package-free).
Thanks alot for all the tips super helpful everyone must switch ti zero waste i have one question where you get your milk 🙂
Thanks
Hi Dina, glad to know your interest in going zero waste. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any relaibale old fashioned solution for milk, where they refill your bottles or so and I understand it’s not available for food safety reason. So I basically make sure to buy milk in plastic bottles and recycle or repurpose the bottles. Tetra packs are harder to recycle (and so are the caps of plastic bottle) but for more recycling ease I prefer plastic bottles.
شكرًا للغاية ، لقد كنت أبحث بالفعل عن طريقة التسوق بدون ملخفات في الإمارات ، أتمنى لك السعادة.
Thank you very much.i really was searching for a away to shop zero waste in the uae .Thank you for the help . Wish you happiness
I am glad to hear that you found the guidelines you were looking for! All the best! Wish you happiness too!
I’m determined to have a plastic-free lifestyle and I cam across your site. Thank you for sharing and I hope there will be more stores to offer this refill options so it would be more available and easier to get.
Rosa, you came to a right place, there is a lot of resource on going plastic free and reducing waste. I will update this post with new addition to zero waste shopping options. All the very best!
Very awesome post indeed. Saving this! We are hoping to start going camping as a family and this is going to be very inspiring shopping in UAE.
Thank you for stopping by Imran, wish you good luck with reducing waste!
Hi Amruta. Im glad I discovered your channel. First of all, Kudos to you for adopting a sustainable zero waste life & also sharing your knowledge with others. I really appreciate the above article on package free shopping. I have one question – what do we do about milk & yogurt? It always comes in plastic. Can you please recommend an alternative to that. Thanks in advance!
Hi Gayatri,
I haven’t yet found a reliable source of milk refill in UAE yet. So my recommendation, if you are buying local milk in plastic bottles, please make sure you clean each bottle afterward and recycle it. Avoid buying small bottles of milk to reduce plastic bottles, but also be mindful not to buy a too large pack, where you might waste milk. Hopefully, we will find a better solution soon.
I just loved the efforts you have taken to go zero waste. This has been a great inspiration for me and I am surely going to try this out. Kudos to your determination and efforts!!! I will surely pass this on. There are many out there who want to do something for the environment and reduce plastic but have no clue where to start from.
Your page and website would surely help them out. I would also love to contribute in this journey of yours.
Deepthy, thank you for your lovely words! Start your sustainable lifestyle journey with us! Please subscribe to the website so that you’ll receive events & volunteering notifications. We would love to have you in our Tribe!
Hello Amruta, I wanted to thank you personally because your blog has inspired me so much! I’m getting married soon and will be moving to a new house which I plan to implement zero-waste ideologies. The reason I’m saying that is because living in an old-school traditional Emirati household it has always been a struggle to get my whole family on board. I could see some differences but the progress has been so slow. I am happy to say that all of what you taught us will be implemented in our new house. Keep on inspiring us and we promise… Read more »
Dear Mar, thank you so much for your kind words and I’m so glad to hear that you found the education provided by our Sustainability Tribe helpful. Would love to know more about zero-waste implementation at your home! You actually put my dream into words, I definitely want to see dramatic positive change in the UAE, feedback like yours proves that we are getting there slowly! 🙂 Wish you the best!