The government plans to make the capital plastic free by 31 December 2026, with the Islamabad plastic ban set to cover bags and other single-use plastic products, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said.
What the Islamabad Plastic Ban Covers
Chaudhry said he has promised the prime minister that Islamabad will be free of plastic by the end of the year. The ban is to cover thin and thick bags, shopping bags with handles and other plastic products, and officials are making arrangements for their removal before the deadline.
He linked the problem to imports, saying many plastic bags entering Pakistan are cheap petroleum by-products brought in from Iran, which customs authorities then auction. He has asked the Federal Board of Revenue to stop auctioning plastic products that harm the environment.
Deadline for Traders
Traders met the minister and were given until 20 October to return single-use bags to manufacturers and switch to alternatives. Dr Zaigham Abbas, Director of National Environmental Quality Standards, said authorities have prioritised these bags, sealed three factories in Islamabad and confiscated 1.4 tonnes of polythene.
Exemptions and Enforcement
A national ban on single-use plastic bags took effect on 14 August 2019, but periodic raids and fines by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency have not ended their use among small traders and cart pushers.
Officials said packaged food bags, such as those for bread, rice and pulses, are exempt because they protect shelf life, and plastic cups and spoons will be inspected. They said bottled water is exempt until 2028, which differs from the minister’s remark that plastic water bottles would also be banned.
