Cabinet approves phase-wise ban on plastic bags across Sindh
KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Saturday decided to impose a phase-wise ban on use of polythene and plastic bags in the province, with Sukkur being the first district where such bags would be banned within next three months.
The meeting of the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, was held at the New Sindh Secretariat with all provincial ministers, advisers and special assistants, Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah, Inspector General of Police Kaleem Imam and other officials in attendance.
After the meeting, CM’s Adviser on Information and Law Barrister Murtaza Wahab briefed reporters that the government had decided to implement the Sindh Environmental Protection Act under which non-degradable polythene bags could not be purchased, used, manufactured or imported.
He said that the ban would be imposed in phases within three months. In the first phase, Sukkur region had been selected and in the second phase a complete ban on non-degradable polythene bags in Karachi and Hyderabad regions and rest of Sindh would be implemented, he added
The cabinet was told that a normal plastic bag took 400 to 1,000 years to degenerate and almost every piece of plastic ever made still existed in the environment. The amount of plastic waste had been increasing about 10 per cent each year for the past 20 years.
The enforcement of the ban on polythene bags will first begin in Sukkur; Murad bans purchase of new vehicles for cabinet members for three years
CM Shah said his government had promulgated the Sindh Environment Protection Act 2014 and its Section 14(3) stated that “no person shall import, manufacture, stockpile, trade, supply, distribute or sell any scheduled plastic product which is non-degradable”.
The cabinet discussed the issue saying an abrupt ban on plastic bags might cause loss to traders involved in the business. The CM asked Environment Minister Taimur Talpur to discuss the issue with traders.
Related Story
The News: Sindh’s ban on plastic bags to begin with Sukkur district
” 
” 
” 
” 
