ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coordinator recently urged Pakistani provinces to follow Punjab’s decision to ban the manufacturing, distribution and sale of plastic to reduce the adverse impacts of plastic waste across the country.
Punjab, Pakistan’s largest province, banned the production, distribution and sale of plastic on June 5, a move that coincided from World Environment Day, in its bid to cut pollution and promote pro-environment steps.
The production of plastic bags adversely affects human health, ecosystems and wildlife. Made from polyethylene, a type of non-biodegradable material, plastic bags remain in the environment for hundreds of years and never decompose fully.
“Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam has urged all provincial governments to follow the suit of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz of enforcing plastic ban, to make Pakistan plastic-free country,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report on Sunday.
Alam said achieving a “plastic-free Pakistan” is an extremely challenging goal but one which can be achieved through coordinated efforts by provincial governments. She noted that plastic had a disastrous impact on the environment and also contributed to respiratory ailments, and other life-threatening conditions.
“She also urged the provincial governments to promote use of eco-friendly alternatives like cotton bags to replace plastic bags, appealing to the citizens to switch to cloth and paper bags as alternatives to plastic,” Radio Pakistan said.
Pakistan, which ranks among countries most vulnerable to climate change, has witnessed untimely downpours, deadly floods, heat waves and droughts in recent years, which experts have attributed to climate change effects.
Devastating floods in the summer of 2022 killed over 1,700 people and inflicted damages of over $33 billion in the country. Pakistani experts attributed the heavy rains and melting of glaciers to the adverse effects of climate change.