EPA Allows Plastic Bags Use For Specific Sectors In ICT

Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is determined to make the Capital a plastic bags free city and has allowed plastic bags manufacturing for specific sectors to reduce plastic pollution through, limited use, recycling and safe disposal

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Apr, 2022 ) :Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is determined to make the Capital a plastic bags free city and has allowed plastic bags manufacturing for specific sectors to reduce plastic pollution through, limited use, recycling and safe disposal.

The EPA had imposed a corporate extended responsibility on specified plastic bags users and manufacturers as the users were bound to recycle the consumed plastic bags, Deputy Director EPA Sadia Munawar told APP on Wednesday.

She said that the use of plastic bags for perishable and hazardous items or material, waste was permissible only for household use, hospitals' hazardous waste and industrial packaging.

She informed that the corporate officials or entities would have to pay Rs 10,000 fee to EPA to receive authorization along with a recycling plan to avail the facility.

"Corporate authorities are supposed to submit a proper recycling plan of used polythene bags that how they will collect plastic bags from garbage and recycle it to avoid pollution that is created by the use of polythene", she apprised.

Highlighting the measures to thwart plastic pollution in Islamabad, she said that Rs210, 000 fines were imposed to shopkeepers and the Agency had confiscated up to 200 kg plastic bags since the start of the current year as manufacturing, selling and distribution of plastics bags were banned in the capital since 2019.

"We have comprised four inspection teams which pay weekly surprise visits in markets and striving every nerve to make Islamabad a plastic bags free city as we have seized thousands of plastic bags and imposed fines of Rs 560,000 to the violators in 2021", she said.