Peshawar    -    Despite ban by the government, polythene bags are increasingly being used in marketplaces with impunity – thanks to the powerful mafia and influential owners of polythene industries.

The plastic bags have been in use for groceries and other food and non-food items for decades. However, the government banned the polythene bags in the year 2017 in order to battle environmental pollution. Later on, authorities renewed and re-announced this ban several times, asking the traders and others to stop using these bags.

Besides various stores, even the nanbais have started using plastic bags to sell rotis to customers while medical experts believe that using such bags for hot food items can be more harmful to health. According to research studies, eating or heating food in plastic bags contributes to the development of ulcers, asthma, obesity, and several malignancies.

Talking to The Nation, Deputy Director Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mumtaz Ali confirmed that the government had banned polythene bags in the year 2017.

To a query about the rampant use of the bags, he said: “The EPA takes action in case it finds a trader using polythene bags; they are fined and cases against them are filed in relevant tribunal.”

When contacted, Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Shafiullah Khan said that in the past when he was serving as the director general of the Environmental Protection Agency, legislation had been done to ban polythene bags due to their harmful effects on the environment.

He said that the unions of polythene bags’ industries later approached the environment department with the plea that they had spent huge money on their plants. However, he said, the polythene bags’ use could not be justified in any way.

“When the ban was enforced, white bags resembling cloth were introduced. However, still, these newly introduced bags are also not biodegradable,” he added.

He said that next week, the Peshawar administration is going to launch a crackdown on the polythene bags in the markets.

“I want to crack down on both the polythene bags as well as those that resemble cloth but are non-biodegradable. Biodegradable bags must be used in order to fight environmental pollution,” the official said.

Environmentalists believe that every year, over 100,000 animals are killed by plastic bags.

Also, between 60 and 100 million barrels of oil is used in the production of plastic each year. As a result, plastic plays a large role in the depletion of this important resource, which drives up the cost of petroleum products every day.

The World Health Organisation states that pregnant women who are exposed to high levels of BPA and phthalates, chemical substances found in plastic, run the risk of giving birth to kids who have breathing issues.

Men who frequently come into touch with phthalates and BPA have an increased chance of acquiring prostate cancer, according to a World Health Organisation study. Not only can plastic bags contaminate water supplies, but they also consume a significant amount of water during production. To make one pound of plastic, around 22 gallons of water are required.