ISLAMABAD: In a bid to protect the environment, Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said that the government would impose ban on single-use plastic bags in Islamabad by August 14, ARY News reported.
Responding to a question in the National Assembly, Zartaj Gul urged the masses to use cotton bags as an alternative to plastic bags.
Gul said that an statutory regulatory order (SRO) under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 was being drafted to give legal cover to the proposed ban.
Read More: Sherry urges govt to make public offices plastic free
She said, “Five thousand cotton bags have been distributed amongst employees of the federal government and more are being procured for distribution in weekly Bazars and other markets free of cost.”
The minister further said that her ministry distributed cotton bags among parliamentarians and journalists as an alternative to plastic bags.
She said, “The ministry has also taken steps to discourage excessive use of plastic in the government departments including ban imposed on one time use polythene bags and PET bottles in the Ministry of Climate Change.”
