As many as 49 out of total 63 conventional brick kilns located within the federal capital territory, which accounted for significant portion of choking air pollution, have been converted to zig-zag technology, a move that will significantly help mitigate the air pollution woes in the capital and surrounding areas, said climate change and environmental coordination ministry senior official Muhammad Saleem.
While four traditional brick kilns have been dismantled, remaining 10 air-polluting traditional brick kilns are presently being shifted on to the environmentally-friendly modern, cleaner zig-zag technology, the official added.
The senior ministry official and media spokesperson, Muhammad Saleem stated that the traditional brick manufacturing sector significantly contributes to the country’s breath-choking air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, as such brick kilns relies on dirty energy sources for baking bricks, mainly coal, rubber and shoe soles as fuel, emitting lethal black carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
But, now with the conversion to the zig-zag technology the cleaner brick kilns technology would help reduce levels of the breath-choking carbon emissions by 60 percent and save their owners energy expenses by 30 percent, he added.
“It’s indeed a great milestone the ministry of climate change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC) and Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency Islamabad (Pak-EPA-Islamabad) supported by the Islamabad administration and other stakeholders managed to achieve the milestone with well-coordinated efforts despite various bottlenecks to fight escalating problem of air pollution in the capital city and its rural areas,” the official Muhammad Saleem said.
He highlighted that while most of the air-contaminating brick kilns were located in rural areas of the capital city, these adjoining areas would particularly benefit from the cleaner air after the conversion of the traditional kilns to the cleaner brick-making zig-zag technology.
