TAXILA: As the deadline to implement the ban on the sale and use of plastic bags ends, the Attock district administration has joined hands with other stakeholders to evolve a strategy to make the district plastic free.

In this regard, a meeting was held on Tuesday which was chaired by Deputy Commissioner Rao Atif Raza and attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner General Anil Saeed, Assistant Director Environment Protection Agency Attock Shazeera Maryam, District Officer Industry Rabia Naseem, Assistant Commissioner City Shagufta Jabin, Chief Officer of Attock Municipality Aftab Ahmed Khan, Chief Officer of Attock District Council Sajid Ali Khan, Chief Officer of Municipality Fatehjang Khan Badshah and other officers.

It was resolved that the department heads and assistant commissioners and chief officers of the six tehsil would ensure strict enforcement of the ban on plastic bags.

The deputy commissioner said the district administration would make all-out efforts to ensure a total ban on the use of polythene and shopping bags. He said the district administration’s efforts for curbing plastic pollution were aimed at reducing the harm that plastic does to marine ecosystems and wildlife. He said plastic bag use could be reduced by one half for consumers and two third for retailers if the perceived sanction becomes doubled. He informed the participants that the United Nations in its report had stated that every year about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste were produced.

He appealed to people, including shopkeepers, shopping malls, restaurants and ovens to support the campaign of not using plastic bags to improve human health and contribute to the elimination of smog.

“Do not use plastic bags and other plastic items, especially food and drinking utensils in homes,” he urged.

The additional deputy commissioner (general) said that used plastic bags were the main reason behind the choking of sewerage and open drainage systems, spoiling sanitation systems and creating an overall unaesthetic view of the environment. He added that the plastic bags were extensively used in cities and one common thing which urban life of today shared all around the country was littering of polythene bags of various colours.

While giving briefing to the participants, the EPA assistant director said that according to the instructions of the Punjab government and to make the environment safe, a complete ban was being imposed on the use of shopping bags from June 5.