Plastic bags ban: EPA calls trade bodies to mull move

ISLAMABAD: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called a meeting of the representatives of traders’ associations on Monday to discuss ban the non-degradable plastic shopping bags, officials said on Sunday. According to officials, the EPA authorities have already issued notices and carried out an awareness campaign before implementing the ban on plastic shoppers. An environmental hazard that chokes the gutters and creates  land and air pollution, the making and sale of plastic shoppers was banned in the country during mid-90s, however, it could not be implemented due to the convenience the  product provides. Officials said EPA has decided to implement the manufacturing, sale and use of non-degradable plastic shopping bags in Islamabad. In this regard the authority has sent notices to the relevant trade bodies. Letters seeking cooperation to implement the ban have also been sent to the leaders of the business community in Islamabad. They said that traders have been sensitized over the hazard these bags pose. Moreover, representatives of the traders have been warned about the penalties EPA could impose if the ban on plastic shoppers was not followed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2017.