KARACHI: Expressing concern over growing plastic pollution across the country that has contaminated the food chain and endangered all forms of life, speakers at a meeting called upon the government to impose a strict ban on single-use polythene bags and initiate a programme for waste recycling.

The meeting was held in connection with World Environment Day to be observed on Monday (today). This year’s theme focuses on solutions to plastic pollution under the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.

Pakistan, it was pointed out, like some other developing countries faced an environmental catastrophe mainly caused by a lack of policy and action on waste management, particularly the polythene bags that were manufactured and used on massive scale but dumped in the open environment.

Estimates, they said, suggested that over 50 per cent of the total waste generated in Pakistan was made up of plastics whereas up to 55 billion polythene bags were in use in Pakistan and this number kept on increasing every year.

“The least Pakistan can do is to ensure that all main urban centres in the country strictly impose a ban on single-use polythene bag. This single step would contribute a lot towards tackling the monster of plastic pollution,” Naeem Qureshi heading the National Forum for Environment and Health (NEFH) stated at the meeting held in connection with the environment day.

Unattended polythene bags, he pointed out, also contributed to urban flooding during monsoon as the flying plastic waste choked storm-water drains, apart from causing significant harm to marine and coastal environment.

“It’s unfortunate that a mega city like Karachi doesn’t have a system for waste disposal, a major quantity of which ends up in the sea.”

He demanded that the federal, provincial, and local governments sit together and adopt a national action plan on plastic waste causing irreversible damage to the country.

At a workshop jointly organised by the Green Media Initiatives (GMI), Engro Foundation and World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) on Saturday for journalists covering environmental issues, speakers called upon the government to move towards waste recycling, reuse of plastic and biodegradable options.

“The role of the general public is equally important. Let’s get together to reduce use of plastic, plant more trees, make our cities green, change our diets and clean up our oceans, rivers and coasts to develop and promote a plastic-free environment,” Jawad Umer Khan representing the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan said.

Prof Mohammad Khurram associated with NED University’s National Centre of AI and Smart City Lab emphasised the need for implementing relevant rules and regulations and creating policies to bring about awareness among common people and stakeholders of the hazards of environment pollution.

Referring to the UN’s figures, Favad Soomro representing the Engro Foundation said more than 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste ended up in landfills or unmanaged dumps each year in Pakistan.

“At Engro, we are striving to solve some of Pakistan’s most pressing issues. We have launched the Engro Circular Plastics Programme, which is partnering with academia, social entrepreneurs, and grassroots organisations to promote a circular economy of plastics in the country.”

Senior environmental journalist Shabina Faraz representing the GMI said coastal communities were at a greater risk of experiencing the adverse effects of plastic pollution.

“Plastic waste has put humans and wildlife in grave danger since animals often ingest plastic. Every piece of plastic ever made still exists somewhere in the world and we need to play our role individually in protecting the planet from becoming one big plastic waste dump,” she said.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2023