MoCC to set up kiosks to distribute eco-friendly bags

Plastic bag substitute will be made out of cotton, jute and other fabrics

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to make access to alternatives of plastic bags accessible, the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) has decided to set up 30 kiosks in different shopping malls and markets of the federal capital to distribute environment-friendly bags.

MoCC Senior Joint Secretary Hammad Shamimi said that the decision has been made after there was an uproar against the August 14 ban imposed on the usage of plastic bags in the city.

He said it was not the government's mandate to produce alternatives to shopping bags, rather it was to prescribe a substitute for the prohibited item.

“It is the responsibility of the producers/bags manufacturers who will have to manage the [alternative bag] stocks themselves,” he added.

"We have made bags out of cotton, jute and other fabric to be distributed among the general public on these kiosks to be set up at various shopping centres,” Shamimi said, adding that the ban on plastic bags has presented a decent employment opportunity for poor widows and underprivileged communities of society.



The corporate sector had taken this initiative positively and had subsidised the production of cotton bags which had helped the those who make cotton bags at home to earn a reasonable livelihood, he added.

The MoCC official further said that in a meeting at the ministry, it had been decided that members of the transgender community will be incorporate in spreading awareness against the hazardous impacts of plastic bags and the ban.

However, a group of around eight social organisations of the federal capital have managed to procure as many as 100,000 cotton bags from Faisalabad on very short notice.

These cotton bags were later distributed amongst members of the transgender community with the task of selling them in the market and earn a respectable income in the process.

“They [people who are transgender] are persecuted at traffic signals and other public areas while asking for money,” he added.

"We will also let members of the transgender community provide an alternative at the kiosks which will make the initiative an all-inclusive and public-friendly programme."

He further stated that the federal capital has been divided into four zones and implementation teams, comprising of four assistant commissioners, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) representative, media personnel, an MoCC representative, a police squad and an Islamabad Municipal Corporation (IMC) official.

"Most of the complaints received have been regarding Sector E-11 being out of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) jurisdiction. We visited each shop in the sector and only noticed plastic bags at a milk shop, whereas all other outlets are complying with the ban imposed on the bags," he added.

Shopkeepers, he claimed, were happier about the ban imposed as an average retailer had to purchase shopping bags worth Rs10,000 to Rs15, which he used to give away to the consumers for free. Now, they were buying a cotton bag from the wholesalers for Rs25 and then selling it to consumers for Rs30 hence, they were in effect making some extra income.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2019.