Punjab govt to introduce a new plastic bag policy.

Lahore: The Punjab government has announced its decision to introduce a new policy pertaining to new plastic bags, a news source reported. Environment Minister Muhammad Rizwan expressed his views on the matter at a seminar organized by the Environment Protection Department (EPD) and Agahee.

Punjab launches new plastic bags policy

He stated that the provincial government would incorporate the reforms introduced by the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governments. He said that they had settled the issues of material, size, and thickness of plastic bags with the manufacturers’ association. He added that the provincial government was also constituting a scientific panel for providing more recommendations on the matter.

On the occasion, Chairman Judicial Commission and former Justice Ali Akbar stated that the Lahore High Court (LHC) had banned the use of plastic bags at all megastores in the provincial capital. He added that the court gave these stores a 15-day deadline to comply with the order and begin using alternatives to plastic shopping bags.

EPD Director General (DG) Tanveer Waraich said that the EPD Punjab had already declared biodegradable plastic bags to be harmful to the environment.

Legal act in works to ban plastic bags in Punjab

Further, Justice Shahid Karim said that they were in the process of directing the provincial government to introduce necessary legislation for banning the manufacture, sale, and use of polythene bags.