CoRe Alliance Donates 5,000 Reusable Bags to Combat Plastic Pollution
Islamabad, Nov 4: The Collect and Recycle (CoRe) Alliance has donated 5,000 reusable bags to the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) for distribution among citizens as part of efforts to discourage single-use plastics and raise awareness about plastic pollution.
The initiative is part of the alliance’s public awareness campaign under the Islamabad Capital Territory Single-Use Plastics (Prohibition) Regulations, 2023, which aim to reduce the use of disposable plastic products and curb plastic waste.
Speaking at the handover ceremony on Wednesday, Pak-EPA Director Dr Mohsina Zubair highlighted the challenges in enforcing the regulations, particularly the limited availability of commercially viable alternatives to commonly used plastic packaging.
She stressed the need for stronger recycling infrastructure and urged industry stakeholders to establish formal plastic waste collection and recycling centres in Islamabad to improve waste management.
Pak-EPA spokesperson Dr Zaigham Abbas said efforts were under way to expand plastic collection and recycling initiatives beyond major cities to smaller urban centres and tourist destinations.He said PET bottles could be recycled into staple fibre for domestic use and export.
He also proposed setting up collection facilities at educational institutions, business centres and tourist destinations. Dr Abbas called for innovative measures, including reverse vending machines, to encourage plastic collection and greater public awareness of waste management.
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CoRe Alliance Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Waqar Ahmad said the organisation was working to promote a circular economy and improve recycling through collaboration among industry, civil society and other stakeholders.
He said the alliance had helped develop standards for recycled plastic packaging and submitted a white paper proposing a nationwide Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework to introduce uniform recycling practices across the provinces.
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The alliance had also run awareness campaigns through billboards at nine locations in Islamabad, social media platforms and an SMS campaign that reached more than 2.5 million Jazz subscribers, he added. The reusable bags carry environmental awareness messages and QR codes linking to the Pak-EPA’s plastic regulations portal.
The CoRe Alliance is a multi-stakeholder platform comprising consumer goods manufacturers, packaging companies, recyclers, non-governmental organisations and development partners working to promote a circular economy and address packaging waste.
The federal government has pledged to make Islamabad plastic-free by December 31 and directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to stop auctioning plastic products considered harmful to the environment.However, single-use plastic bags remain widely used in the capital, more than seven years after their use was banned on August 14, 2019.
