EPD officials ‘taking bribes’ to allow illegal plastic crushing units to operate

Contaminated hospital plastics being crushed for monthly bribes.

LAHORE: Three Environment Protection Department officials have been accused of taking money from as many as 60 factory owners to let them manufacture plastics from hazardous hospital waste.

An EPD official speaking to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity said two inspectors Javed Iqbal and Rana Hussain working under the supervision of DDO (Environment) Younas Zahid have been taking bribes from factory owners. “Zahid is also known to take a cut of the pie,” he said.

A total of 11 EPD inspectors work under Zahid’s supervision.

Tanzeer Ahmad, operating a plastic crushing unit in Badami Bagh for 15 years, told The Express Tribune said that he pays Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 monthly as bribes to the EPD inspectors named to be able to purchase plastic waste from different hospitals across Lahore.

Ahmad admitted he was not bound to pay the EPD inspectors.

Plastic crushing factory owners also expressed their ignorance of any laws declaring them illegal.

“No laws against crushing hospital waste existed [when I started this business]. I am not aware of any recent law against using the waste. The inspectors show up and threaten to seal the factory… [The bribe] is the price of earning a living,” Ahmed said.

The owner of an other plastic crushing unit told The Tribune on condition of anonymity that he had been paying up to Rs20,000 after the EPD inspectors threatened to seal his unit over a year ago.



“I had purchased a chopping machinery a few months before the EPD inspectors showed up and started blackmailing me for operating an illegal plastic crushing unit,” he said.

Owners and workers at small scale plastic crushing units usually cut plastic waste manually using a pair of scissors or blades. It is then washed with water and caustic soda before being sold to factories making disposable cutlery and plastic furniture. The waste is purchased by unit owners for Rs30 per kg and is sold for Rs150 to Rs200 per kg after being cleaned and crushed.

DCO Noorul Amin Mengal ordered the EDP staff to survey plastic crushing units and take relevant action a week ago, however, DDO (environment) Younas Zahid says there are no such factories operating.

“I would have taken action against plastic crushing units if there were any factories operational. EPD inspectors have removed most of these factories in the last two years. I have ordered the inspectors to compile a report of [how] each hospital [treats its waste]… It will be provided to he newly appointed EPD DG Farooq Hameed Sheikh soon,” Zahid said.



To the allegations of corruption levelled against the two EPD inspectors by crushing unit owners, Zahid said, “One cannot completely eradicate debauchery and theft from society. We have a small number of inspectors. They have done what was required of them.” He said the allegations appeared to be baseless. He denied the allegations against himself.

Javed Iqbal and Rana Hussain declined to comment.

An EPD survey conducted a month ago revealed that around 43 units were purchasing and crushing disposables hospital waste, including syringes, urine and blood bags, and laboratory waste, for the last 10 to 15 years. The units are operating in the Gulshan Ravi, Misri Shah, Badami Bagh and Bund Road areas.

Rule 3, 16, and 22 of the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 deal with the safe disposal of hospital waste. The rules were made in August 2005 and added under Section 14 of Pakistan Environment Protection Act, now adopted as the Punjab Environment Protection Act 2012 after devolution, which devises ways of handling hazardous substances.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2012.