Enforcing ban on plastic bags

KARACHI: The Sindh government has finally imposed a ban on polythene bags, with the governor recently promulgating an ordinance prescribing a maximum punishment of three months and/or a fine of up to Rs50,000. The ordinance says no person shall manufacture, sell or use black polythene bags or offer any kind of eatable and non-eatable goods in such bags.

Although not all types of polythene bags have been banned, and ambiguity is still there as far as the size of the bags is concerned, the ban will, to some extent, help check the environmental degradation caused by these bags.

Polythene bags are widely used, and the need has since long been felt to restrict their sale and use. They make their way into drains after landing at garbage dumps with blowing wind. The fact is that these bags are a bane for our present and future generations.

Previously, people used to carry baskets or cloth handbags while shopping, but over the years, they became accustomed to polythene bags. Nowadays, even cooked food, meat, milk and other products are sold with impunity in these bags which can cause disease. The bags are harmful because they are carcinogenic in nature and when burnt in garbage, they produce deadly gases which, if inhaled, can be toxic and cause serious ailments. They are especially lethal for patients with asthma.

Now when the hazards of polythene bags and other plastic products have become known to everybody, and when a law has also been promulgated to stop production of these bags, especially black bags, efforts need to be made to enforce the law effectively. Moreover, notable methods need to be developed to dispose of trash bags in a way that they do not end up littering our surroundings or clogging drains.

The success of the ban will depend on the role of the law-enforcement agencies and society’s willingness to abide by it. Such bans in the past did not deliver because they were implemented half-heartedly, and it is feared that this move may be taken lightly this time also — just like the ban on gutka, rummy clubs, smoking at public places, drug addiction and so on.

It is hoped that the authorities concerned this time will wake up from their deep slumber and ensure strict implementation of the law. Checking the manufacturing of plastic bags could, to some extent, restrict their use.

The federal government should also play its role in curbing the sale of these bags in the entire country, and the provinces should be asked to place certain restrictions. This is because the overall purpose of the law may be defeated if the bags are manufactured somewhere else and brought into Sindh for use.

In any case, the provinces need to work with each other to curb crime and enforce bans.