Inside the Dubai cloud kitchen with a zero plastic policy on packaging

Art of Dum uses glass jars, clay pots and betel leaf plates to package its food

The use of glass jars, clay pots and paper containers for packaging the food items delivered from Art of Dum's cloud kitchen, Al Barsha, Dubai. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The Art of Dum cloud kitchen in Dubai operates a zero plastic policy on packaging. Photos by Khushnum Bhandari / The National

A delivery driver takes a package from the Art of Dum cloud kitchen Al Barsha, Dubai.

Sanjay Vazirani, chairman and managing director of Foodlink, which runs Art of Dum.

Packaging includes glass jars, clay pots and betel leaf plates.

The company sourced steel cutlery to make the home dining experience more eco-friendly.

Art of Dum was conceptualised with the thought of sustainability and eco-friendliness in mind.

Paper bags are used to make deliveries.

Food being prepared at Art of Dum's cloud kitchen Al Barsha, Dubai.

A cloud kitchen in Dubai that operates a zero plastic policy on packaging says the city’s move to start charging shoppers for single-use plastic bags is a great step towards helping to repair the planet.

On July 1, Dubai will introduce a charge of 25 fils for single-use plastic bags. The emirate's Executive Council said the charge would be applied in retail, clothing, restaurants and pharmacies, as well as on delivery and e-commerce orders.

The team behind Art of Dum, an eco-friendly cloud kitchen brand in Dubai, has been using reusable steel cutlery, clay pots and glass jars — which customers get to keep — for packaging since it launched in 2020.

Sanjay Vazirani, managing director of Foodlink, which runs Art of Dum, said he hoped more businesses would start adjusting their operations to be more environmentally friendly to help the UAE and the world achieve its sustainable development goals.

“Art of Dum was conceptualised with the thought of sustainability and eco-friendliness in mind,” he said.

“For a long time we were toying with the idea of doing something which would show our responsibility towards good health and be good for the planet too.

“We created packaging with a reusable concept in mind, so things like durable cutlery and glass jars.”

Although packaging costs have increased “three to four-fold” since the decision to use alternatives to plastics, Mr Vazirani said establishing a brand that “does right by the planet” has helped them gain a good customer base.

The cloud kitchen, based in Al Barsha, Discovery Gardens and Karama, is a food delivery only service and uses 10 different eco-friendly packaging options for food, including a betel leaf plate, which is made with leaves from the betel-nut tree.

With a number of other food brands under the Foodlink umbrella, Mr Vazirani said the long-term goal was to operate all of its kitchens on a zero plastic policy.

Almost 300 million tonnes of plastic pollution are produced around the world each year, the same weight as all the humans on the planet, according to figures released by the UN Environment Programme.

Only nine per cent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills, dumps or the natural environment.

The UN says that if current trends continue, the ocean could contain more weight of plastic than of fish by the year 2050.