New policy on plastic bags soon: minister

LAHORE:The Punjab government is going to introduce a new policy on plastic bags by incorporating reforms introduced by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This was revealed by Environment Protection Department (EPD) Minister M Rizwan while addressing a seminar organised by Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) on the topic of no plastic bag under clean and green Pakistan campaign at Town Hall here on Wednesday.

The seminar was held in collaboration with an NGO in which MPA Uzma Kardar, Wasa Chairman Sheikh Imtiaz, Mubarak Ali and others participated. EPD Deputy Director Ali Ejaz delivered a welcome speech and threw light on importance of a ban on shopping bag to control pollution.

Minister M Rizwan during his address claimed that the issue regarding material, size and thickness of plastic bags has been settled with the manufacturers’ association. However, the technical and scientific panel is also being formed for further recommendations and said that plastic bags in their present form are posing a grave risk to the environment and human health.

Judicial Commission Chairman Justice (retd) Ali Akbar in his address said Lahore High Court has already banned use of plastic bags at all mega stores in the provincial metropolis and gave them 15 days deadline to comply with the order and switch to alternative shopping bags.

Justice Shahid Karim said directions were issued to the Punjab government to legislate on banning use, manufacture and sale of polythene bags and introduce a necessary legislation in this regard.

EPD DG Tanveer Waraich said that as per the latest research of local and international organisations, the polythene bags were found to have been a cause of major environment disasters. He said that it was pertinent to mention that Environmental Protection Department (EPD), Punjab, has already declared biodegradable plastic bags harmful for environment.

He said decomposing of bags sounds environment-friendly but it requires a lot of energy and bags do not degrade in landfills and leave toxic leftovers. “This is why European Union has also started discouraging the use and production of biodegradable plastic and bags”, he maintained. A representative of LWMC said plastic bags irrespective of thickness could cause sewerage system damage, spread of diseases/epidemics, soil pollution, water pollution, floods, eventually leading to severe environment pollution and human health hazards in both urban and rural areas of Punjab.