Government cracks down on businesses violating new product ban: ‘For overall protection of … public health’

Cities around the world are instituting bans on plastic bags in an effort to reduce single-use

plastics

.

In Islamabad, Pakistan, officials are refreshing the city’s efforts to reduce plastic waste.

As

The News

reported, employees from the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, along with city officials, have been running inspections in major commercial hubs around the city.

While the inspections have discovered hundreds of kilograms of banned

plastic materials

, many businesses were in compliance with the regulations.

“This crackdown is part of our sustained efforts to enforce the Single-Use Plastics (Prohibition) Regulations, 2023, so as to reduce plastic pollution in the capital city and its adjoining areas for overall protection of environment and public health,” Pak-EPA Director General Nazia Zeb Ali told

The News

.

The strict enforcement of the regulations may seem tough, but they demonstrate the city’s commitment to sustainable action.

However, these sustainable moves are not without their criticisms.

For one, plastic is inexpensive. Requiring alternatives can be more costly to businesses or to consumers, who may have to purchase paper or reusable bags. It can also put more pressure on consumers to remember reusable bags and to be more prepared for shopping.

Many consumers also reuse plastic bags from shopping for a variety of purposes, including as garbage bags. Some argue that the extra energy and resources to

make trash bags

or paper bags nullify the potential savings from a ban.

On the other hand, bag bans reduce both the amount of plastic bags and other items in landfills and bags

littering the streets

. Plastic straws, for instance, can take

200 years

to break down.

Bans on plastic help to reduce our reliance on

dirty energy

sources like crude oil,

natural gas

, and coal. Interestingly, The Hague in the Netherlands recently

banned public advertisements

for

dirty energy

sources.

Many cities around the world have instituted similar bans on

plastic bags

or single-use plastic items, such as

Alberta, Canada

, or

Pittsburgh

. The

World Economic Forum

reported that plastic bag bans in cities around the country have reduced the amount of plastic bags in circulation by billions of bags per year.

Reducing our plastic consumption also reduces our exposure to

plastic-related toxins

, making these bans a benefit for public health in addition to environmental health.

Plastic bans and regulations like those in Islamabad are complex but ultimately push us toward a cleaner, greener future.

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Government cracks down on businesses violating new product ban: ‘For overall protection of … public health’

first appeared on

The Cool Down

.