ISLAMABAD: Exactly four months after they were banned, single use plastic bags are back in the capital.

Corner shops and grocery stores that were previously wrapping items in paper or packing them in paper bags have now gone back to using plastic carrier bags and fruit and vegetable vendors are using plastic bags at weekly markets.

A senior official from the Ministry of Climate Change said that people are continuing to dispose of garbage using plastic bags, “which is evidence from the heaps of garbage dump sites in the outskirts on Islamabad, on the roadsides and around bins outside streets in residential sectors.”

He added that the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has not been able to rein in their use by cart vendors in the streets.

“They continue to package items in plastic bags. It is particularly difficult to bring push cart vendors under the ambit of the new law prohibiting the use of plastic bags, as they do not have associations that the government can negotiate with,” he said.

Another senior ministry official said that people were not cooperating with the ban either.

A few teams of Pak-EPA inspectors cannot enforce ban on plastic bags on their own, senior ministry official says

“This is a huge task that the few teams of inspectors from the Pak-EPA cannot enforce on their own. They need the help of Islamabad’s residents, who must play their part by refusing to accept plastic bags from shopkeepers, but that cannot be accomplished without continuous awareness initiatives,” the official said, suggesting daily text messages on the damage plastic bags do to the environment.

But residents complained that they cannot help it if shopkeepers have returned to using plastic bags.

“I often carry my items in my hands. But sometimes you cannot carry all the groceries in just your hands. They have also stopped selling items in paper bags, which was a good option,” F-8 resident Imran Rafiq said.

To make matters worse, there seems to be no end in sight to the use of oxo-biodegradable plastic bags, which according to the Ministry of Climate Change are far more hazardous to the environment and to human health.

Pak-EPA Director General Farzana Altaf Shah said that these bags have also been banned under the law prohibiting single use bags.

Environmentalists said that oxo-biodegradable bags can affect soil fertility and water when they disintegrate, which they do upon interacting with elements such as sunlight, water and oxygen. They argue that the tiny particles of plastic can also be inhaled and are equally threatening to marine life that can also consume them.

Ms Shah said she was extremely short-staffed to implement the ban.

“I do not have a single inspector to check violations. The Pak-EPA needs at least a dozen inspectors for the entire city. Most of the field work and raids are being conducted by senior officers, who miss out on office work when they are in the field,” she said.

She said that shopkeepers were taking the government for granted by thinking the efforts being made would fade away.

“There will be zero tolerance towards violators of the law. The Pak-EPA will continue its raids and will fine store owners using plastic bags and even seal shops according to the law,” she said.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2019