Crackdown on plastic bags shifts to retailers

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FAISALABAD:

The Environment Protection Department (EPD) and the Faisalabad divisional administration have intensified their campaign against single-use plastic bags by shifting enforcement from manufacturing units to wholesale dealers, retailers, street vendors, transporters and hidden warehouses involved in their distribution.

Officials said the revised strategy aims to dismantle the supply chain of banned plastic bags, which continue to reach markets despite restrictions on their production.

Speaking to reporters, Faisalabad EPD Deputy Director Usman Azhar said the department had made the ban on single-use plastic shopping bags one of its top priorities.

He said approximately 14 tonnes of banned plastic material had been confiscated across Faisalabad since last year.

In addition, fines amounting to nearly Rs2 million had been imposed and recovered from violators, while around 50 first information reports (FIRs) had been registered for non-compliance.

Azhar said enforcement teams had encountered resistance during several operations, with one EPD official sustaining critical injuries while carrying out anti-plastic raids.

"Our objective is to ensure that markets are completely free of shopping bags with a thickness of less than 75 microns," he said.