Staff Reporter
Rawalpindi
:Environment Protection Department Punjab (EPD) has decided to launch action against shopping malls and markets for non-compliance of Ban on Plastic Bags use in the light of Lahore High Court’s decision to purge the ecology from the menace of polythene bags causing equally detrimental impacts on human health and environment alike.
Talking to APP, Deputy Director EPD Rawalpindi Amin Baig said the Lahore Court’s decision was primarily for Lahore that was extended to other divisions of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Multan. He added that letters were written to mega shopping malls, business centers and markets of the garrison city to apprise them about the court’s decision and government’s orders to ban single time use plastic bags. Amin said the next step was to develop a profile of plastic or polythene bags manufacturers in the city to inform them regarding prohibition on polythene bags so that they could switch to biodegradable and other eco-friendly bags such cotton and jute bags to protect their businesses from losses. He said a letter was issued to the mega shopping malls and markets for taking measures to finish plastic bags use in their premises and adopt cotton bags and others to end the use of polythene bags within 10 days as the deadline for compliance was August 31.
To a question, Amin mentioned that in case of non-compliance EPD would file a petition of contempt of the court against the shopping malls and business centers in the Lahore High Court whereas the main focus at the moment was on awareness and education of general public and all stakeholders on plastic bags ban.
In a World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF) study on hazards of plastics, it was found that an average human being was consuming plastics equivalent to the size of credit card equal to 5 grams a week.
This mainly occurred due to food items consumed that were packed in plastic bags and packaging thinner than 15 microns. People usually buying food stuff including milk, youghurt, chicken curry and soup dishes were mainly at risk as unknowingly the polythene was dissolved and got mixed with the food item that was causing serious health complications.
