Islamabad: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam recently addressed several senators about the dangers of plastic bags and revealed that the government was working on identifying alternatives for them, a news source reported.
Aslam told the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change that the number of plastic shopping bags produced in Pakistan in 2018 was 55 billion; a harrowing figure that raised serious environmental concerns the country.
This is because plastic bags pollute rivers and produce an adverse effect on human health. He revealed that the usage of plastic bags in Islamabad would be banned from August 14; adding that the provinces would form their own legislations on this front.
He said that the government was exploring the Kenyan model pertaining to the production of biodegradable shopping bags from plant material. The committee also discussed initiatives to tackle the impact of the proposed shutdown of the plastic bags industry, and to deal with the resulting unemployment.
