Numbers say it all: More than 33000 plastic bottles end up in the Mediterranean sea every minute. An average resident of the UAE throws away almost 450 plastic bottles in a single year. To tackle plastic waste, Dubai Can have successfully reduced the use of 500 ml single-use plastic water bottles by a whopping one million in 100 days. 

As part of the campaign, people in the city have started carrying refillable water bottles, and public water fountains have been installed. Marking a cultural shift, more than 500,000 liters of water has been consumed by residents from Dubai Can fountains.

The initiative has led to the installation of dozens of water fountains in parks and across popular destinations in Dubai. The water is obtained through desalination and is filtered to have the same purity level found in plastic bottles. By December 2022, the campaign is expected to meet its target of setting up 50 such fountains.

Dubai Can is part of a larger push by the government to transform the city into a sustainable destination, along with the recent ban on plastic bags in the UAE. The achievement of reducing plastic waste by a million bottles also marked World Oceans Day in the city. Apart from these, the country is also home to a facility for recycling e-waste, including smartphones and laptops.