Cabinet approves plastic bag ban

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved ban on use of plastic bags in the limits of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to ban plastic bags in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) is scheduled to come into force from August 14. After the deadline, use of polythene bags will be allowed only conditionally for specific purposes like industrial packing, primary industry packing, municipal packing, hospital waste and hazardous waste after due permission from the competent authority. Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam Tuesday said the Federal Cabinet approved the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to ban plastic bags in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). “The federal capital will celebrate its freedom from polythene bags on August 14,” he told the media during the briefing on cabinet meeting. Plastic bags had become a menace for the society. “Around 80 per cent of the drains across the country are choked due to plastic bags and are a potential cause of urban flooding and various diseases among the masses. Every city and village has the same issue where plastic bags are proliferating. It will remain in our ecosystem for 1000 years as polythene bags do not decompose,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2019.