Govt's flimsy plastic ban policy falls flat

Experts argue that restricting the use of plastic water bottles in a few government offices alone is a fruitless move

KARACHI:

With much of the developed world shifting towards using biodegradable materials, plastic-based products continue to dominate store shelves in Pakistan, where environmental sustainability is still fairly low on the government's development goals, despite the existence of acts like the Sindh Environmental Protection Act of 2014 banning the sale of non-degradable plastic.

In a rushed attempt to check mark the initiation of eco-friendly policies, the government has recently announced efforts to curb the usage of plastic water bottles in a couple of state offices. Yet somehow law makers have failed to explain how this would help encourage a reduction in the country's excessive reliance on plastic bottles.

Muhammad Tauheed, a Karachi-based urban planner told the Express Tribune that even if such a policy was implemented at government offices, it would not make a significant difference to environmental pollution since plastic bottles continue to be used for drinking water in private offices and restaurants. "Therefore, it is necessary to ban the use of plastic bottles throughout the country. Only banning plastic bottles is not enough. Instead it is necessary to promote the use of environment-friendly water bottles," opined Tauheed.

According to a report published by the International Trade Administration, 87,000 tons of dry waste are generated in Pakistan every week, while 16,500 tons of waste are generated in Karachi, the largest city in the country, with nine per cent of the total waste comprising plastic.

"After kitchen waste, plastic is the second most collected waste in the city. According to reports of various international organizations, more than 3000 tons of garbage is left in Karachi every day, while the garbage that is collected is also thrown at open landfill sites like Gond Pass and Jam Chakru. Due to this reason, the plastic collected on the beach of Karachi increases by tons every day.

Sadly, only six tons of waste is recycled daily from the waste generated in Karachi, while about 7000 tons of waste can be recycled and reused here daily. But the problem is that the institutions working here do not have enough capacity," added Afaq Bhatti, an environmental activist from Karachi.

"The ban, which is yet to be implemented across all government offices, is not even feasible since water dispensers are not available in every government office, and even if there are water dispensers in the offices, there is no arrangement for disposable glasses. Furthermore, it is not possible for all government employees working in offices to arrange separate glasses for themselves. Due to these reasons, the above order of the Government of Sindh is not enforceable," said an employee from the Sindh Livestock Department.

On the contrary Mehmood Alam Khalid, another environmentalist in Karachi, was of the opinion that this initiative of the government could reduce environmental pollution, but it must be implemented. "Earlier restrictions were imposed on the use of plastic bottles for water in the federal government offices, but it did not work either. It is necessary that the federal and provincial governments strictly implement this ban, otherwise environmental sustainability would not be achieved in the country," noted Khalid.

Earlier too, the Sindh government had banned the use of polythene and plastic bags in the province once in 2018 and again in 2019 however, both the attempts had failed miserably due to different reasons.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, the Provincial Minister claimed that the government wanted to reduce consumption of plastic bags but was compelled to be lenient because it involved the livelihood of a large number of people. "Thousands of people are employed in the manufacturing of plastic bags and in the event of a ban, their jobs would be at risk. This time the provincial government has started from its own offices. However, it will take time to implement this policy in the whole province," said Shah.