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Thursday, March 28, 2024

KPK launches a crackdown against plastic bags

30 million tons of annual solid waste is produced in Pakistan; 9% of these are plastics. These plastics end up in our oceans and landfills taking up almost as much space as Pakistanis themselves.

News Desk |

Plastic waste products, mostly poly-ethene bags, are used as a one-time storage unit globally. It was reported in late 2018 that around 55 billion of these plastic bags are produced yearly, in Pakistan. The short-term minimal ease that these disposable bags provide us is excessively overridden by the hazards it places to the environment, human life, marine and wildlife and to the crippling economy of our country in its management.

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Why are plastic bags harmful to us?

They can cause cancer

An additive known as Bisphenol (BPA) is used to make plastic more supple, durable and transparent. These chemicals then place a potential danger when they enter our bodies through plastic bottles, storage boxes etc. Scientists have found that BPA is cariogenic (cancer-causing) in nature and can terribly imbalance our body’s hormonal production.

They can cause kidney diseases

Inorganic dyes included in the plastics are highly toxic in nature. These also carry traces of metals, such as lead or cadmium, both of which affect kidney health and proper functioning of other organs.

Read more: Vehicle emissions contribute to hazardous air pollution in Pakistan 

They cause colossal air pollution

Massive amounts of poly-ethene bags are often directly burnt for disposal. However, this short-term approach for their riddance introduces disastrous long-term hazardous exhaust gases like Dioxins and Furans to the ambient air, which cause lung, brain and many undiscovered diseases.

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Recently, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan ordered a crackdown against manufacturing and use of plastic bags throughout the province. Along with the ban, he also expressed displeasure over the threat to biodiversity and human safety caused by environmental pollution. Discussions on campaigns against plastic bags manufacturers were initiated, so that its production and use may be curtailed at the source.

This is quite a revolutionary step in terms of creating awareness amongst the Pakistani crowd, and that too, by a politician – it is of no debate that environmental sustainability is of the lowest concerns to our power-hungry office-bearers.

Clean and Green: Islamabad to become plastic-free

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found that plastic causes around 50 percent of the pollution at Karachi’s Clifton beach and other beaches along the coastal belt that causes plentiful threats for public health. We hope that more follow the steps of CM Mahmood Khan and together with project an actual difference in the pollution status of our nation.