Pakistan named among top countries dumping plastic in rivers

ISLAMABAD: The world is discarding billions of tons of plastic into the oceans – and to your surprise, Pakistan is among the top countries contributing to this pollution, according to UN report.

The United Nations says that around a million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute around the world, while up to five trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year —half of which are designed to be used only once and then thrown away.

Till now, 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced every year — nearly the weight of the entire human population. Of this, a staggering eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the world’s oceans every year.

The report mentioned that out of the world’s rivers, 10 carry more than 90 per cent of the plastic waste which ends up in the oceans.

Chinese Yangtze River leads with 1.467 million tonnes while Pakistan’s Indus River is at second place with 164,332 tonnes and Chinese Yellow River is at third place with 124,249 tonnes.

Referred among the ‘river of plastics’, UN says about the Indus River: “The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research found 90 percent of plastic flowing into oceans can be traced to 10 rivers. The Indus ranks second on the list. One of Asia’s largest rivers, it flows through parts of India and Pakistan into the Arabian Sea, supporting millions of people. While much plastic enters rivers because of a lack of waste infrastructure, sewage systems contribute too.”

Municipal authorities in Pakistan haven’t been able to implement relevant laws to ensure proper disposal of garbage into rivers.