THE government has taken a commendable step to eradicate the use of plastic bags. In this regard the federal government has notified a deadline for the closure of the plastic bag production units all over the country, meaning thereby to end the source of pollution. However, the government directives owe an explanation to owners of the factories in particular and to the public in general as a policy matter.

Would it be wrong to assume that the factories were established under a legal mechanism and regulations? Didn’t the owners fulfil the legal requirements as per policy of the government? Or did it all happen because of government ignorance? Did the government strategise any alternative to plastic bags for consumers? If answers to the said queries is in the negative then what is the fault of the owners and the consumers?

The government should evolve a mechanism to give compensation to those affected by the ban on plastic bags.

In the meantime, the government should create a transition period for switching over to a plastic bags-free society. In this transition period, the government should:

Provide free technical expertise to owners of the existing units, followed by subsidy or tax amnesty on the import of machinery for establishing new units for manufacturing biodegradable/ environment friendly bags;

Provide the consumers with biodegradable bags;

Engage the international donor and execution organizations in the green sector — like the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme — to fund the move toward a plastic bag-free society.

Muhammad Arif
Project Director, National Parks KP
Peshawar

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2019