The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launched the ‘Clean Seas’ initiative to combat plastic pollution a few years ago.
A humanitarian organization study titled ‘Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea’ looked at the world’s most plastic-contributing rivers.
According to the Pakistan chapter of the World Wildlife Foundation, Pakistan’s river Indus is the second-largest contributor to plastic pollution in oceans, which comes as no surprise given that the country has the second-largest domestic market for plastics in Southeast Asia.
In turn, the WWF conducted a study analyzing the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle recycling process in Pakistan, discovering that while households and the commercial sector, including restaurants and hotels, recognized plastic pollution as a problem, they were unaware of recycling and sustainable waste management practices and most households did not sort recyclables at all.
According to Shahzeen Pervaiz, a WWF-Pakistan spokesperson, the PET plastic commonly used for packaging food and beverages, particularly soft drinks, juices, and water, is not biodegradable, pollutes rivers, and kills marine life when consumed.
The data presented above clearly demonstrates the country’s urgent need to not only address plastic pollution at the industrial level, but also to launch public awareness campaigns and encourage household trash sorting into recyclables, compost, and so on, as is done in developed countries.
To read our blog on “The threat of Indus banks bursting with high water flow,” click here