Ibri gets the ESO treatment

Educational seminars and information booths set up for the ESO's 'Say No to Plastic Bags' campaign provided residents in and around Ibri with some food for thought, in what was thought to be the area's first Eco-friendly road show.

The road show began in Mekka Hypermarket and Vegetable Market, where booths were set up offering information to shoppers while talking about the alternatives to using plastic bags, including a free giveaway of hundreds of specially designed ESO reusable bags.

H.H. Sayyida Tania bint Shabib Al Said of ESO said, "Eco-friendly shopping was not the first thing on our shoppers' minds when they set off to buy their daily groceries on that day. With the road show, we hope each shopper learned something new and now knows how long plastic bags take to biodegrade and what damage they can have on our wildlife - something to think about when making the decision about whether or not to use plastic bags. By providing them with one of our reusable bags or a 'bag for life' as we like to term it, we have given each shopper the power of choice at the supermarket checkout."

With further shopper's road show held in Ibri Local Souq, Fish Souq and Al Tawoon Markets packed into the busy three days, ESO believes they targeted several thousands of Ibri's residents.

Focusing on the educational establishments and the younger generation of Omanis has always been ESO's key concern. With this in mind, ESO's educators held seminars at Ibri Educational College and Ibri Technology College to discuss how the youth of Oman could help to make a change.

"By staying fully informed about the devastating effects plastic bags are having on our surroundings, the young generation can lead the path to a green nation by simply going green themselves. Road show in universities and colleges will help us target the decision makers of the future, helping us to promote the cause on a corporate level too," added H.H. Sayyida Tania bint Shabib Al Said.

A key supporter of the road show and a long-term sponsor of the ESO is Oman LNG, which has helped organise and fund the campaign, and Dr. Brian Buckley, CEO of Oman LNG said, "I believe we achieved what we set out to achieve, which was to reach as many Omani residents as possible, and empower them to make a change within their community. Before we arrived, the majority of these people understandably did not know how damaging plastic bags can be, but now we have provided them with the know-how, we hope to see a reduction in plastic bag pollution in and around the area."