‘Pakistan sixth largest plastic producing country’

PESHAWAR: Water and Sanitation Services Company Mardan, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) and Pakistan Red Crescent Society organised an awareness seminar on reduction of plastic pollution.

A handout said that the main objective of the seminar was to inform and sensitise the students and public about plastic borne diseases, and to highlight the importance of reducing this pollution.

Dr Hameeda Bibi from AWKUM gave a briefing on mechanism of micro-plastic accumulation and uptake in soil and plant system, Uzma Noreen on bacterial degradation of plastic, and Muhammad Ishaq delivered his speech on plastic recycling technologies while in panel discussion Ayaz Ali from PRCS, Rahatullah from WSSCM, and Dr Shams Ali Baig from AWKUM participated and gave practical solutions.

DG EPA Anwar Khan said that from 1st February, Khyber Pakhunkhwa government was imposing a complete ban on the use of all types of plastic in the province.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the only province that has formulated a climate change policy. He said that the province has established an improvement fund for the reduction of environmental pollution, through which the ideas of the research related to improvement of the environment would be funded and supported.

He said that more than 350 million tons plastic was used globally every year. Pakistan is the sixth largest plastic producing and consuming country, he added. Also, 20% to 30% of municipal waste contains plastic, in which only 10% can be recycled, while 24% of plastic can be used for energy and 60% of plastic is not used in any way.

WSSCM Deputy Manager Municipal Services Muhammad Ishaq briefed the participants that WSSCM was collecting and disposing 180 tons of garbage from Mardan city on a daily basis, in which more than 7.3% is plastic waste.

“If we fail to reduce the use of plastic, it will have the worse effects on our environment,” he said. The speakers urged all the stakeholders to take measures to control the plastic pollution, through public sensitisation, media and other means of communication.