ACCORDING to a survey released by the World Bank on Saturday, the River Indus delivers around ten thousand tonnes of macro-plastics to the Arabian Sea each year.
The survey in fact is a first-of-its-kind field study undertaken along the Indus river basin to quantify the amount of waste, particularly plastics, leaking into the river system and its findings should ring alarm bells in relevant quarters to adopt requisite steps and reverse this trend for protection of this water source and marine life there especially the dolphins.
The threat posed by polythene bags is undeniable. Consistently researchers are communicating their worries about environmental degradation because of these bags.
They are also the main reasons for choking of drains, leading to urban flooding and directly posing a threat to biodiversity.
Regardless of the legislation banning the use of plastics, our country has long struggled with its copious plastic bag trash.
According to some estimates, 624,200 tonnes of plastic is being produced annually in Pakistan.
Major chemicals used in the manufacturing of plastic are highly toxic and cannot be digested by earth even in centuries, which is why it poses a serious threat to living beings of all species on earth.
According to experts, toxic chemicals contained in plastics, also cause neurological problems, cancer, birth defects, hormonal changes, gastric ulcer, thyroid problems and cardiovascular diseases.
In this backdrop, time has come to wage a full-fledged war against this menace before it is too late.
While launching a campaign for public awareness of harmful impact of polythene bags, strict action should be taken against those involved in its manufacturing and sale.
This should be a sustained campaign and must continue till completion of the task. Most importantly, government must extend incentives for local production of environment friendly paper bags.
It is also our responsibility to promote plastic free practices to ensure a clean and safe future for our coming generations.
