KARACHI: The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) on Thursday clarified that the provincial government’s recent plastic ban applies only to single-use plastic shopping bags and not to all plastic products.
SEPA Director General Waqar Hussain Phulpoto said the clarification aims to address misunderstandings among industrial stakeholders and the public. “Only plastic carrier and shopping bags have been banned. Other plastic items remain permitted,” he said.
According to SEPA, items not covered by the ban include bread bags, food packaging, frozen food wraps, garbage bags, shrink wrap, pallet wrap, bubble wrap, milk and water packaging, and agricultural mulching films, among others. Industrial-use plastics such as woven bags, BOPP, CPP, and metallized films are also excluded.
Phulpoto said the government is targeting single-use bags due to their significant contribution to pollution and urban waste. He alleged that certain parties are spreading misinformation about the scope of the ban.
Sindh Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Agha Shahnawaz Khan reaffirmed the government’s position, stating that the decision targets materials deemed most harmful to the environment.
