KARACHI, Sept 19: Used ghee cans are being brought to the city from different parts of the country, mainly from the Punjab, as there is a ban on their reuse. Sources said several truckloads of used ghee cans of 17kg reach here daily and certain ghee manufacturers purchase them in bulk.

According to Pakistan Tinplate Merchants Association, the second-hand ghee cans cannot be reused under the standard specifications laid down of Pakistan Standards Institute as it becomes a health hazard.

PTMA chairman Haji Tasleem Qureshi told Dawn that besides the used cans, tin-free steel (TFS) is also being used in the manufacture of new ghee cans which was also again against standard specifications.

According to a ghee manufacturer, Tariq Subhan, most of the ghee manufacturers were packing their products in recycled cans. He said new cans cost Rs68 while the second-hand is available for Rs40 to 45. Those using used cans are selling their products at cheaper rates, he added.

He demanded that a vigil be maintained on used cans from Punjab and other parts of the country.

Mr Subhan also recalled that the Sindh High Court had already restrained the ghee manufacturers from packing their products in the used cans.

A can manufacturer, Tauseef Khan, said there were over a dozen can manufacturers in Karachi some three years ago. Now there are only four. Their number has come down owing to decrease in the demand for new cans by the ghee mills.

Mr Khan said he used to produce around 10,000 cans per month in the past. “Now my unit is producing only 4,000 cans as the demand has come down,” he added.

He said the ghee manufacturing units were supplying around 50,000 ghee tins in the local market daily. He said those involved in the recycling business purchase empty ghee cans from restaurants and hotels. The used cans are recycled at Brohi Goth near Piyala Hotel in Buffer Zone and in Korangi, he added.

Tauseef Khan said that the Can Manufacturing Association approached the authorities several times, but to no avail.

He said a committee be set up to stop reuse of ghee cans. The committee should comprise representatives of ghee manufacturers, can manufactures, tin- plate merchants and law-enforcement agencies which should initiate action against those playing with the life of the people.