Environmentalists from all around the world stress the value of reusing materials to reduce pollution and save Planet earth every year as World Recycling Day comes around. The idea is simple: cut down on waste, recycle materials, and build a sustainable future. However, this admirable idea is frequently reduced to a sham in Pakistan.
As disorganised as the state itself, the country’s recycling industry is inefficient, full of corruption, and lacks government monitoring.
The concept of recycling itself is frequently twisted, acting as a front for dealers, middlemen, and multinational firms who take advantage of the system for financial gain.
From the outside, Pakistan could seem like a nation that recycles a lot. There is an unofficial network of scrap traders – called kabarria in the local surroundings – who gather used paper, plastic bottles, glass, and metals from every part of big cities like Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Without government involvement, this system that is primarily operated by the lower-class community also creates a disorganised yet necessary method of garbage management. But the reality is much more concerning.
The majority of the gathered material is not recycled in a sustainable way. For example, plastic is either disposed of in landfills, where it remains for generations, or burned in open areas, spewing harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. Paper waste is frequently rebranded and sold at a premium price rather than being appropriately reused.
Even more startling is the fact that no safety precautions are taken when handling dangerous materials, including industrial scrap, medical waste, and technological waste. For little pay, workers – often women and children – clean through toxic trash with their bare hands, exposing themselves to hazardous chemicals and risk of getting infected.
Useless recycling campaigns
Corporate-driven recycling campaigns have become more popular in Pakistan in recent years. Big brands start campaigns that promise to promote sustainability, such as putting bins in malls, promising plastic neutrality, and encouraging consumers to dispose of waste responsibly. “The big companies doing recycling campaigns themselves
are producing so much waste, their campaigns are not enough to cater to it. Recycling is required on a much larger scale to match the waste,” said Ahmad Shabbar, founder and CEO of GarbageCAN Sustainable Waste Management. The catch is that these campaigns are mostly performative; instead of investing in actual recycling infrastructure, companies use them as marketing tactics, and the collected waste frequently ends up in the same landfills that these companies claim to avoid. Additionally, multinational corporations continue to produce excessive amounts of plastic packaging, leaving consumers to handle disposal instead of addressing the underlying issue of overproduction. “What the companies do isn’t enough and more or less looks like a gimmick only. What they do as recycling is what is documented but what about what is happening behind, in the supply chain, transportation, and other functions,” said urban planner Farhan Anwar.
The recycling tax that local governments impose on companies under the pretense of financing waste management is another cause for concern. In reality, very little of this funding is ever used to upgrade the recycling infrastructure. Rather, it enriches politicians and contractors who run unlawful landfills and fake recycling facilities.
Dumping the West’s trash in Pakistan
Pakistan receives hundreds of tonnes of trash from other nations while struggling to manage its own waste. Developed countries, especially those in the West, send their rubbish under the name of recycling, but this is really just dumping.
When China stopped taking in foreign rubbish in 2018, Western countries looked for other places to dump their waste. Pakistan became the main objective, along with nations like Bangladesh, Philippines, and Malaysia. Under the idea of recyclable materials, thousands of tonnes of plastic, electronic, and even hazardous rubbish started to arrive in Pakistan.
Unaware and complicit customs officers frequently permit these shipments to flow through ports uninspected. A large portion of this supposedly recyclable garbage cannot be recycled at all. Rather, it is disposed of in rivers, open landfills, and even burned, posing serious risk to human health and the environment.
“The world has changed a lot from the idea of ‘reuse, recycle’. It has progressed to ‘reproducing and upcycling’ waste. We need to see it as a circular upcyclying approach rather than just consumption and production,” said Anwar, adding that the world is more about ‘zero waste’ cities where waste is used and bought for productions as well.
There are significant ethical questions about recycling because part of this imported waste consists of medical waste from labs and hospitals. Contaminated materials, expired medications, and infectious syringes find their way into the unregulated recycling industry, where they are frequently resold or used without any safety precautions.
The used clothes industry
The import of used garments from more affluent countries is among the most startling features of the global garbage trade. In the West, people are urged to give their used clothing for charitable purposes. They think that the impoverished in developing nations are receiving their used jeans, jackets, and shirts. But their donations turn out to be anything but philanthropic.
Karachi’s ports receive thousands of containers full of second-hand clothing each year. Originally donated, these clothes are then sold in large quantities to local markets, who then resell them at discounted prices throughout Pakistan. This approach is the foundation of the famous Landa Bazaar in places like Karachi and Lahore.
“We need filters that this is what we need and this is what we don’t need. If the waste that we are receiving is useless, then we need to be clear that it is not required, such as medical waste which later on is just burned off and pollutes our air space,” said Shabbar.
While used clothing helps the lower-income population, it simultaneously destroys Pakistan’s own textile sector. The influx of low-cost imported clothes makes it impossible for many struggling clothing producers to compete, which results in job losses and unstable economies.
Additionally, not every item of clothing that is delivered is in a wearable state. “Many big companies that use old clothes and plastic to recycle buy plastic waste from the waste that is imported because local and imported plastic have almost the same price,” Shabbar said, adding that when the companies get plastic in cheaper rates then such waste will keep ending up on our shores.
Much of it is utterly unusable because it is soiled, ripped, or bacterially contaminated. These contribute to Pakistan’s pollution problem by being burned or dumped in landfills. Only a selected few gain profit from this covert business strategy. The big importers, shipping firms, and middlemen make money off of something that was intended for charitable causes.
Can Pakistan fix its recycling system?
When it comes to recycling, Pakistan lags well behind the rest of the world. The problem will only worsen if appropriate action is not taken. The import of waste materials – particularly toxic trash and non-recyclable plastic – has to be subject to stronger regulatory regulations. More extensive customs inspections are required, and offenders must be punished severely. To curb this menace Pakistan also needs up-to-date recycling facilities capable of handling waste effectively but with minimal technological innovation, the majority of recycling now takes place in unorganised areas. The load on landfills will be eased if the public and private sectors make investments in suitable recycling facilities.
Companies who launch fraudulent recycling campaigns need to answer for their actions. Transparency should be maintained on the processing and destination of collected garbage.
Pakistan needs to control the import of used clothing to guarantee that only high-quality, wearable items reach the nation. In order to avoid economic harm, the government should also assist regional textile producers.
It is necessary to educate the people of Pakistan about appropriate recycling methods. The majority of people don't know where their waste ends up or how it affects the environment. Influencers, media organisations, and educational institutions should all contribute to raising awareness. “Pakistan has now made sustainability reports from its international partners compulsory. But that too is mainly just on paper and nothing is happening on ground,” said the CEO of GarbageCAN Sustainable Waste Management.
Pakistan finds itself at a turning point but will the nation take charge of its recycling future or will it remain a landfill for the waste of the West? Waste management is only one aspect of the problem; other issues include economic independence, environmental justice, and the health of millions of people. There would be irreparable repercussions if Pakistan does not take action immediately. It's time to move past meaningless recycling catchphrases and towards practical, sustainable solutions. Until then, Pakistan’s so-called recycling will continue to be a myth that helps the wealthy at the expense of the weak.
Around 49.6 million tonnes of solid waste are produced in Pakistan each year, with an annual growth of more than 2.4%.
Rapid population increase and urbanisation are the main causes of this surge. More than 16,500 tonnes of municipal waste are produced every day in large cities like Karachi, which are home to more than 16 million people. Unfortunately, this amount cannot be handled by the current waste management system, which creates serious environmental problems.