ISLAMABAD: Traders and manufacturers of oxo-biodegradable plastic bags took to the streets on Tuesday against the government`s ban on their products.

Speaking on behalf of the Potohar Plastic Association, spokesperson Sheikh Zubair said the government had no scientific evidence to support the argument that oxo-biodegradable bags are harmful to the environment.

Traders and manufacturers said the bags disintegrate after interacting with the elements, such as sunlight and water.

`We will stop producing and selling them if the Ministry of Climate Change can convince the masses that oxo-biodegradable bags cause any harm to the environment, humans and animals. In fact, oxo-biodegradable plasticbags turn into fertiliser when thrown into the soil,` Mr Zubair claimed.

At their protest near the National Press Club, traders argued that these bags cost Rs2 per bag, compared to the government`s new degradable bags that cost more than Rs20.

`Officials from the ministry have distributed hundreds of thousands of degradable plastic bags amongst shopkeepers and stores for free, affecting our business. Did the government plan a strategy [forj how it would compensate or suggest an alternate [for] the businessmen and the hundreds of thousands oflabour force associated with the plastic bag industry who they are putting out of business,` Mr Zubair asked.He said that while the government has banned oxo-biodegradable plastic in the capital, the rest of the world continues to use it.

`The western world would have been the first to ban oxo-biodegradable bags had they been hazardous to the environment,` he said.

According to the Ministry of Climate Change, while single-use plastic bags have been banned in the capital, oxo-biodegradable bags which are hazardous to the environment and human health are still in use. Pakistan Environment Protection Agency Director General Farzana Altaf Shah said oxo-biodegradable bags have been banned under the same law that prohibits the use of single-use plastic bags.

Environmentalists say that oxo-biodegradable bags, which disappear after interacting with sunlight, water and oxygen, disintegrate into almost invisible pieces that settle in the soil, effecting fertility and mixing with water.

They argue that these tiny pieces of plastic can be inhaled by humans and are equally threatening to marine life, whichcan also consume them.

According to one environmentalist in the climate change ministry, environmentalists also believe oxo-biodegradable plastic bags are carcinogenic. However, the official conceded that there was limited research on their negative health and ecological effects.-Staff Reporter