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RAWALPINDI, Oct 17 (APP): The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Rawalpindi has intensified its crackdown on the use and sale of banned plastic bags as part of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s ‘Plastic-Free Punjab’ campaign aimed at eliminating single-use plastics and protecting the environment.
An EPA spokesperson told APP on Friday that the Agency had been rigorously enforcing the ban on plastic bags thinner than 75 microns in the garrison city during 2024 and 2025. The drive, he said, targeted illegal manufacturers, traders, and shopkeepers using or selling prohibited items in violation of the Punjab Single Use Plastic Products Regulation 2023.
He further said that, in collaboration with the district administration, anti-plastic squads had been conducting regular inspections of markets, shops, and eateries to ensure compliance. During the September 2025 crackdown alone, he added, the EPA confiscated around 300 kilograms of banned plastic bags, obtained written undertakings from 283 shopkeepers pledging to stop their use, and imposed fines amounting to Rs30,000 on violators.
The spokesperson stated that penalties under the Punjab Single Use Plastic Products Regulation 2023 included fines ranging from Rs5,000 to Rs50,000, confiscation of illegal plastic items, and sealing of premises for repeated violations.
He said that the EPA Punjab had announced a complete ban on all types of shopping and polythene bags across the province from June 5, reaffirming its resolve to eliminate plastic pollution. It had also directed all manufacturers, collectors, and recyclers of plastic to register with the Punjab Environment Protection and Climate Change Department to ensure accountability and regulatory compliance.
The spokesman said that the Agency had distributed cloth bags among schoolchildren and shopkeepers in Rawalpindi to promote eco-friendly alternatives.
To raise public awareness, he said, banners highlighting the harmful effects of plastic had been prominently displayed across the city.
He pointed out that plastic pollution posed a serious threat to soil, water, and air quality, contributed to environmental degradation, and had adverse effects on human health, including the spread of microplastics through the food chain.
He added that the ongoing drive in Rawalpindi was part of the broader provincial effort to protect human life, wildlife, and aquatic ecosystems from the dangers of plastic pollution.