Minister promises plastic bag ban violators won’t be spared

Islamabad : While leading a campaign for public awareness of the harmful impact of polythene bags on the environment and public health, state minister for climate change Zartaj Gul Wazir on Tuesday warned that the violators of the ban on single-use plastic bags in Islamabad wouldn’t be spared.

“Polythene bags have played havoc with the environment, natural ecosystems, and public health, so we can no longer afford and tolerate the manufacturing, sale, import, and use of the environmental nuisance. Those not shunning their use despite the adequate availability of affordable alternatives on the market are actually foes of the people and environment and we will go after them,” the minister told reporters after sending off the polythene bag ban enforcement teams to various business centres of the capital city.

Zartaj Gul said while official enforcement teams had started raiding markets in Islamabad and its adjoining areas from March 1 and imposing fines on shopkeepers and consumers for violating the law against the use of polythene bags, more stringent measures would be taken in the coming days against those flouting the law, which banned the use of such bags as a punishable crime in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

“The enforcement teams have been reactivated and directed to visit the markets and other areas and impose fines on those found violating the ban on polythene bags. These teams comprise senior officials from the climate change ministry, Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory administration, and Islamabad Police,” she said.

According to officials, the climate change ministry in collaboration with the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has imposed a ban on (manufacture, import, sale, purchase, storage, and usage) of Polythene Bags Regulations on Aug 14, 2019, in Islamabad Capital Territory. Besides, implementation teams comprising the representatives of the climate change ministry, Pak-EPA and CDA/MCI have also been notified to enforce the ban in Islamabad.

However, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country early last year, the enforcement of those regulations slowed down.

“Now, following the massive public awareness campaigns through print, electronic and digital media over last one month regarding the ban on polythene bags that was initiated by the climate change ministry, the ban has been revived from March 1, 2021, and being strictly enforced across the capital city to rid it from polythene bags, which accounts for a significant share in overall municipal waste and environmental degradation,” an official said.

Joint secretary of the ministry Syed Mujtaba Hussain said since the enforcement teams had visited the markets for ensuring all-out enforcement of the ban on polythene bags since March 1, polythene bags weighing hundreds of kilogrammes had confiscated from shops and fines to the tune of thousands of rupees imposed during the polythene enforcement bags ban enforcement activities over last two days in the capital city’s bustling markets Aabpara market and G-9 Markaz.