hen people in Pakistan talks about waste, the discussion almost always circles back to plastic bans. Images of discarded bags blowing in the wind have come to symbolise our pollution problem. Yet, the country’s waste crisis is far more complex, far larger and far more dangerous than the conversations suggest.

According to UN Comtrade data, Pakistan produces 49.6 million tonnes of waste every year. Plastics account for just 4 percent of it. The overwhelming bulk is made up of organic waste (62 percent) and construction and demolition debris (30 percent). Still, policy attention and enforcement energy are almost entirely directed towards one of the smallest waste streams.

In terms of plastic consumption, Pakistan ranks low globally. Annual per capita use stands between 7 and 7.5 kg, a fraction of the figures for countries like the United States at 130 kg, Japan at 129 kg, even India at 12 kg and Sri Lanka at 8 kg. The recycling rate is modest, around 7.6 to 7.8 percent, yet this is close to the global average of 9 percent.

Almost all of this recycling is driven by the private sector, small and medium enterprises and the informal network of waste pickers and junk dealers. The PET bottles are the exception; 80 to 90 percent of these are collected and repurposed into polyester fibres or other resin products that feed small manufacturing businesses.

The real bottleneck is capacity. Pakistan does not have formal recycling facilities to process complex plastics, especially those under resin codes 4 to 7 that are notoriously difficult to recycle. This category includes styrofoam, bubble wrap, drinking straws, egg cartons and disposable cutlery, materials that are both hazardous and persistent in the environment. The multi-layer packaging faces similar challenges, although a handful of start-ups such as Concept Loop and Dastaan-i-Rumaan have found ways to up-cycle it into marketable products. On top of this, the country is absorbing an increasing volume of imported plastic waste, with little oversight of how it is handled. In 2024, plastic imports reached $5.3 billion while exports totalled only $930 million, leaving Pakistan to bear the environmental cost of other nations’ consumption habits.

If plastics represent such a small share of our waste, why do they dominate the policy agenda? The answer lies partly in visibility as plastic waste is easy to see and politically convenient to regulate. However, the neglect of larger waste streams is a costly oversight. The organic waste, in particular, represents both a missed opportunity and a moral failing. Every day, enormous quantities of food from restaurants, caterers and banquet halls are thrown away while millions struggle with food insecurity.

Pakistan has no formalised, government-backed network of food banks capable of rescuing surplus food and redistributing it through SMEs, community-based organisations and NGOs. The absence of such a system means that safe, consumable food ends up in landfills instead of on plates. If it was being managed, it could help us achieve SDG 2 (zero hunger) targets.

If left unmanaged, biological waste clogs drainage channels, causes urban flooding and seeps pollutants into the environment. While some countries recycle such material into road base, aggregates and building blocks, Pakistan simply dumps it. 

The agricultural losses add another layer to the problem. The country forfeits roughly Rs 500 billion annually in post-harvest waste due to poor handling, storage and transportation. These losses extend beyond economics; they exacerbate environmental hazards when crop residues are burnt, adding to the recurring smog crisis. These by-products have clear value in a circular economy. The rice straw and husk, for instance, can be processed into bio-energy, briquettes, bio-char or sustainable packaging.

Similarly, maize stalks can be turned into animal feed, compost or bio-fertiliser. Weat chaff and straw can serve as mulch or compressed fodder. Fruit and vegetable waste can be composted for kitchen gardens and organic farming. A few SMEs, such as Trashit PK, have already built small-scale solutions, converting segregated kitchen waste into compost for horticultural use, but without a segregation system, their reach remains limited.

The construction and demolition debris, which accounts for nearly a third of total waste, is another neglected stream. If left unmanaged, it clogs drainage channels, fuels urban flooding and seeps pollutants into the environment. While some countries recycle such material into road base, aggregatesand building blocks, Pakistan simply dumps it. This mismatch in waste priorities is glaring. The plastic bans, often targeting carrier bags which, ironically, are more recyclable than many other plastic types, have become the centrepiece of policy while high-impact waste streams remain largely unaddressed.

Without segregation at source, separating organic, recyclable and hazardous materials, any attempt at meaningful waste management will falter. Even in regions with plastic bans, enforcement is patchy; non-compliant products are common; and viable alternatives are scarce.

At international level, countries are negotiating a global plastics treaty under the Inter-governmental Negotiating Committee (INC) 5.2 in Geneva. For Pakistan, these talks are more than symbolic; they could reshape waste management financing and responsibilities.

The high-income nations with high plastic consumption drive global demand and frequently export their waste to developing countries, shifting the burden of disposal. A fair solution lies in a Global Extended Consumer Responsibility framework, under which developed countries would pay recycling fees to nations managing their waste.

Developing countries could issue plastic credits for processing both domestic and imported plastic if high-consumption countries were required to purchase those. The revenue could be invested in segregation systems, sorting facilities and recycling infrastructure. These provisions should be embedded in the global treaty to align with Sustainable Development Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production.

Pakistan’s waste challenge is, at its core, a governance and systems problem. Addressing it requires nationwide segregation at source implemented through municipal systems, private sector partnerships, enforceable bylaws and public education. The largest waste streams, organic and construction waste — must be prioritised for recovery, composting and recycling, alongside the plastics problem. The recycling capacity must expand to handle complex and hazardous plastics, leveraging the innovation already underway among SMEs and start-ups.

Circular economy approaches to post-harvest residues, construction debris and food waste can create jobs and reduce environmental harm. At the same time, Pakistan must advocate for fair global trade arrangements that compel waste-exporting countries to contribute to safe processing in recipient nations.

As long as waste priorities are set for convenience rather than impact, the crisis will continue to grow. Concentrating on plastic bans while 92 percent of waste streams go unmanaged is like trying to clean up a flood without shutting off the water supply. A truly effective waste policy must address the whole picture, not just the part that happens to be most visible.

The writer heads the Program on Ecological Sustainability and Circular Economy at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. She tweets @ZainabNaeem