PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtun-khwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said the government was serious about addressing the polythene bags related to environmental and health hazards. He said the interest of the manufacturers and traders of non-biodegradable shopping bags would be protected and any strategy to get rid of hazardous bags will be implemented after taking all the stakeholders into confidence. An official handout said that the chief minister was chairing a meeting on use of polythene bags. He constituted a committee under the secretary Environment Department to chalk out a comprehensive and feasible plan to prohibit sale non-biodegradable bags. Senator Mohsin Aziz, Member National Assembly (MNA) Sajida Zulfiqar, Senior Minister for Local Government Inayatullah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Kan, secretaries of Environment and Local Government departments, the director general of the Environmental Protection Agency, the chief executive of WSSP, nazim district government Peshawar, commissioner and deputy commissioner Peshawar and other stakeholders attended the meeting. A consensus emerged in the meeting to ban black coloured shopping bags as these are made from harmful material. Stressing the need for a sustainable and acceptable solution to the problem, the chief minister called for creating awareness among users about hazardous effects of shopping bags. He directed the local government and WSSP to ensure collection of used shopping bags and other solid wastes. He added that garbage collection and its safe disposal would be prime responsibility of the newly created village and tehsil councils.
