Coastal communities are more likely to experience the negative effects of plastic pollution, according to senior environmental journalist Shabina Faraz of the GMI.
Speaking at a meeting, participants urged the government to impose a strict ban on single-use polythene bags and launch a programme for waste recycling in response to the country’s growing plastic pollution, which has contaminated the food chain and endangered all forms of life.
In conjunction with Monday’s World Environment Day, the gathering was held (today). Under the heading “Beat Plastic Pollution,” the emphasis of this year’s theme is on plastic pollution solutions.
It was made clear that Pakistan, like some other developing nations, was dealing with a severe environmental crisis primarily due to a lack of waste management policies and initiatives, especially with regard to the polythene bags that were produced and used on a large scale but dumped in the open environment.
According to estimates, over 50% of all waste produced in Pakistan is made up of plastics, despite the country using up to 55 billion polythene bags—a number that keeps rising each year.
“The least Pakistan can do is make sure that the single-use polythene bag is strictly prohibited in all of the major urban areas of the nation. The National Forum for Environment and Health’s (NEFH) Naeem Qureshi said at a meeting held in honour of Earth Day that this one action would go a long way towards tackling the monster of plastic pollution.
In addition to seriously harming the marine and coastal environment, he noted that unattended polythene bags also contributed to urban flooding during the monsoon because the flying plastic waste clogged storm-water drains.
It is regrettable that a megacity like Karachi lacks a system for waste disposal, as a significant amount of it ends up in the ocean.
He urged the national, provincial, and local governments to come together and adopt a national action plan to address the problem of plastic waste that was causing the nation irreparable harm.
Speakers at a workshop for journalists covering environmental issues held on Saturday by the Green Media Initiatives (GMI), Engro Foundation, and World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) urged the government to move towards waste recycling, plastic reuse, and biodegradable alternatives.
“The general public’s role is equally significant. To create and promote a plastic-free environment, let’s join forces to use less plastic, grow more trees, make our cities greener, alter our diets, and clean up our oceans, rivers, and coasts, said Jawad Umer Khan of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan.
Prof. Mohammad Khurram from the National Centre of AI and Smart City Lab at NED University emphasised the necessity of enacting pertinent laws and policies and developing strategies to raise awareness of the dangers of environmental pollution.
According to Favad Soomro of the Engro Foundation, 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in landfills or uncontrolled dumping sites each year in Pakistan. Engro established the Engro Circular Plastics Programme to advance the country’s circular economy of plastics.
Coastal communities are more likely to experience the negative effects of plastic pollution, according to senior environmental journalist Shabina Faraz of the GMI.
“Since animals frequently consume plastic, plastic waste has seriously endangered both humans and wildlife. Every plastic item ever produced is still out there, and each of us must do our part to prevent the world from turning into a giant landfill for plastic waste, according to the speaker.