PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and manufactures have agreed to replace non-biodegradable shopping bags with biodegradable ones after three months.

“The owners of the factories manufacturing shopping bags have agreed with the provincial government that they will stop the production of the black coloured polythene shopping bags” MPA Shaukat Yousfazai, who heads a special committee constituted by the chief minister for the purpose, told Dawn.

He said that provincial government and manufacturers also agreed to convert the machinery of making biodegradable shopping bags within three months.

A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Prevez Khattak here on Monday also decided to enact strict and effective laws to cover all aspects of use and manufacturing of non-biodegradable shopping bags, food containers, bottles and such other hazardous products, according to a statement.

The meeting also decided to impose ban on use of black coloured polythene shopping bags as first step to stop use, sale and manufacturing of all sorts of polythene shopping bags.

The report of the special committee, constituted by the chief minister last month with MPA Shaukat Ali Yusafzai as its head, was also presented during the meeting that highlighted all aspects of the issue and suggested measures to address the problem.

MPA says manufacturers have agreed to stop production of black coloured polythene bags

The chief minister had formed the committee to chalk out a strategy to impose ban on polythene bags and explore ways and means for introducing feasible, economical and acceptable alternative for it.

“The factories will not manufacture the hazardous shopping bags after three months as the government has directed them to phase out their existing stock in three months,” Mr Yousafzai told Dawn, when asked about the decisions taken in the meeting.

He said that strict punishment for the shopkeepers and manufacturers was also under consideration that would to be implemented after six months. He said that all the wholesalers were also directed to dispose of the available stock of non-biodegradable shopping bags.

The district administration, nazims, naib nazims and councillors of the local government would help the government to implement its decision of introducing biodegradable shopping bags in the markets, he said. “They would visit the markets for checking the non-biodegradable shopping bags,” he said.

Expressing his resolve to get rid of the menace of hazardous shopping bags, the chief minister said that no compromise would be made to ban use as well as manufacturing of the shopping bags which had been declared dangerous for human health and the sanitation system.

He said that even difficult decisions would not be avoided to stop manufacturing, sale and use of such bags. He directed the authorities concerned to take necessary measures including desirable legislation to deal effectively with menace of unsafe and harmful shopping bags.

Besides others, the meeting was attended by secretaries of local government, environment and industry department, director general environmental protection agency (EPA), chief executive of WSSP, chairman of Chief Minister Complaint Cell, commissioner of Peshawar and representatives of traders.

The participants of the meeting termed use of black coloured shopping bags the most dangerous for human health as well as sanitation system of the province. It was decided that in the first phase complete ban would be imposed on manufacturing, sale and use of black shopping bags, however, three months time would be given to the traders, retailers as well as the factory owners for disposal of existing stock of black polythene bags and the hazardous raw material used in making of such bags.

The meeting decided that in future manufacturing of only biodegradable polythene bags, bearing thickness of at least 30 micron, would be allowed.

It was also decided to register manufacturers, traders and retailers of plastic shopping bags with the local council concerned to regulate the business and proper regulations regarding manufacturing and marketing of safe plastic shopping bags would be formulated and the EPA would be strengthened to check the plastic bags and other food packing materials.

Published in Dawn, October 13th , 2015

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