Mardan: Project Procurement International (PPI), in collaboration with the Water and Sanitation Services Company, Mardan (WSSCM) organized an awareness session on the use of plastic and its harmful impacts. The session highlighted the adverse effects of single-use plastic bags. This initiative is the part of the ongoing National Plastic Waste Management Plan to reduce plastic pollution through reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering, and encourage the role of informal sectors in plastic value chain.
The speakers Muhammad Ishaq Manager Municipal Services from WSSCM and Saadat Ali team leader of PPI emphasized that the purpose of such sessions is not only awareness but also a practical demonstration of the shared responsibility of institutions, civil society and citizens in addressing the plastic pollution challenge. Plastic waste constitutes 13.23% of the total waste stream in Pakistan's 15 major cities. Cities like Lahore (16.22%), Murree (16.26%), and Sukkur (15.62%) face significant plastic waste challenges. The composition of plastic waste in Pakistan reveals a high percentage of LDPE (39.51%) and HDPE (22.28%).
The speakers stated that under this project, detailed assessments of population and waste generation have been conducted in 15 cities across the country, including Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Mianwali, Jhelum, Murree, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and Mardan.
The combined population of these cities is 48.59 million, generating 9.8 million tons of waste daily. Out of this, 8.6 million tons are collected, 1.9 million tons are recycled, while 5.1 million tons end up at dumping sites.
Cloth bags were distributed to participants as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bags.