Say bye to plastic bags

Use of polythene bags will not be allowed in the federal capital from April 1. Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency has issued a notification according to which nobody would be allowed to use plastic bags in the city. The agency said that the bags are a cause of pollution and, therefore, they were being banned.
Federal Minister for Climate Change Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan has pressed on need for replacement of poisonous plastic bags with bio-degradable plastic bags which are environment-friendly and are not detrimental to human health.
“Under the law, the use, sale and export of the plastic bags will be completely banned in Pakistan from April 2013 and oxo-biodegradable plastic bags will be introduced in the country,” the minister said.
He said that the bags, both paper and plastic, present a huge threat to the environment.
“They are a menace and end up in landfills. Not only that, a lot of resources are needed to produce, transport and (occasionally) recycle them, and the emissions resulting from these processes are even more dangerious. These bags disrupt ecosystems and also clog pipes and drains and that causes flooding,” he said.
He expressed these views in a press conference on phasing out use and sale of plastic bags at the Ministry.
“Paper bags production requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and different toxic chemicals including suphuric acid that can lead to acid rain and water contamination, which is hazardous for the life on earth,” he said. The minister said that was praise-worthy the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) , Pakistan, has succeeded in getting approval from the Federal Ministry of Law and Justice for banning the use and sale of the plastic bags in all forms and its export, which [the ban] has been already notified.