THIS is apropos “No progress on KP’s plastic bags ban yet” published in Dawn on 6th Sept, 2015.

This is not an issue of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, but the entire country, which has been affected by the plastic bags. Made of polythylene, when it is burnt in the open, these bags produce toxic gases injurious to human health.

Then improper disposal causes choking of sewerage lines. There is a dire need for legislation which must lay down rules for the disposal of plastic bags by burning in incinerators at 800 degrees Celsius.

The cleanliness of drains and nullahs must be ensured by the respective municipal/cantonment boards all over Pakistan. Similarly, it is the responsibility of each citizen to adhere to the judicious use and care in disposing of plastic bags as being practised in developed countries.

Another suggestion is to make centralized arrangement by municipal corporations to collect garbage from each house in robust plastic bags so that scattering of plastic bags can be eliminated.The expenses incurred must also be shared by both residents and municipal/cantonment boards to make the surroundings clean and tidy. I hope that with collective efforts, if enforced can get rid of the nuisance of plastic bags.

If this is not possible, then a ban on the use of plastic bags is the only option for which the federal and provincial governments do not seem ready. The reason being that thousands of persons will be rendered jobless because of the ban on the manufacturing, sale and distribution of plastic bags.

Engr R. Riaz Akbar

Wah Cantt

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2015

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