UN: Pakistan has plans to fight plastic pollution and improve its waste management system, Ambassador Munir Akram said, amid global efforts to keep the planet livable.
“We plan to implement ‘Zero Plastic Waste Cities along the Indus’ under the overall framework of the ‘Living Indus Initiative’ to tackle the problem of plastic pollution,” said Pakistan’s envoy at an event organized by the Mission of Turkiye, United Nations Environment. Program (UNEP) and UN-Habitat.
The event was held at the UN headquarters in New York on the occasion of the International Zero Waste Day. The Day highlights both the importance of global strengthening of waste management and the need to promote sustainable consumption and production models.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram commended the initiatives of the President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, and the message of Mrs. Emine Erdogan, the First Lady of Türkiye, for their commendable efforts in this regard.
In Pakistan, he said, under this initiative, cities with zero plastic waste will be created in the Indus basin, starting with the largest cities in the basin such as Karachi.
Ambassador Akram highlighted the global challenge of waste production and highlighted the significant amount of waste produced annually, including municipal, solid and hazardous waste. Pakistan, with a population of 241 million people, generates 30 million tons of municipal solid waste annually, with 10 to 14 percent of it classified as hazardous waste, he told delegates.
