By Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin
Everywhere we look, there is plastic. In our kitchens and the clothes we wear, in school lunches and hospital IV bags. It’s convenient, but that convenience comes at a cost.
Only 4 percent of Pakistan’s plastic waste is recycled. Much of the rest blights our landscapes, and some of it invades our bodies. Plastic bags and packaging clog and contaminate our waterways—one recent study estimates that 27 percent of all plastic waste generated in Hyderabad ends up in the Indus River. Microplastics have been found in drinking water, seafood, human blood, and breast milk.
Frighteningly, half of the country’s plastic waste is simply burned in the open air, according to the Plastics Action Roadmap issued by Pakistan’s National Plastic Action Partnership. In Karachi and Lahore, an estimated 175,000 tons of plastic are burned annually, putting them among the top 10 cities globally. The toxic fumes thereby released are a grave threat to human health. Is it any wonder that Pakistan has the second-worst air quality in the world? What’s more, burning plastic contributes to global warming, helping to melt our glaciers and fuel the heat waves and floods from which we suffer.
But this does not have to be our future. We have created plastics, and together we can reduce our dependence on them. Overcoming the plastics crisis requires a bold, systemic approach that unites all sectors to reduce plastic production and consumption, and ensure proper waste management. It begins with acknowledging the sources of our dependence on plastic—and identifying where the greatest opportunities for change now lie.
In Pakistan, 60 percent of water sources are unsafe to drink. With no reliable alternatives, people have understandably turned to bottled water, accelerating the demand for single-use plastic bottles. Safe, clean drinking water should be available to all, so that people never have to choose between dehydration and single-use, polluting bottles.
We must also acknowledge the role of limited awareness. Many people don’t know that plastic degrades over time, leaching into water or food, or that experts advise against heating food in plastic containers. Without the knowledge or means to choose safer alternatives, countless families expose themselves to potential harm.
The Plastics Action Roadmap aims to unite stakeholders to reduce plastic pollution by 75 percent by 2040. To get there, we need to vastly increase the amount of plastic waste that is collected to prevent it from being dumped at random. We need the private sector to innovate—replacing plastics with other materials or redesigning them to make them more recyclable. Recycling-plant capacity and efficiency need to grow, as does the number of well-managed landfills.
We also need institutions to demonstrate leadership. At the Aga Khan University, we have phased out single-use plastic bottles and plastic cutlery across all our campuses globally. The success of this initiative has sparked efforts to reduce plastic use in other areas of our operations—including in our hospitals. We are keenly aware that plastics make up 30 percent of health care waste, according to the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, our students, faculty, and staff are leading research and awareness efforts that extend far beyond our campuses.
While addressing infrastructure and other deficits, we must not lose sight of those directly involved in dealing with plastic waste. Waste and recycling work is often done by members of marginalized communities, and sometimes by children. Frequently performed with little or no protection, it can expose workers to serious harm. The needs of waste workers should form part of any plan to address plastic pollution.
Ending our overreliance on plastics also requires something much more personal than roadmaps and institutions. It requires our voice, our choices, and our will to act. Instead of passively shaking our heads at the black fumes rising from burning plastic, we must advocate for change. When we see progress, we must amplify it.
In Pakistan, more than 3 million tons of plastic waste is generated every year, enough to form two K2-size mountains, according to the UNDP Pakistan Accelerator Lab. Without action, the amount of plastic waste the country generates each year could nearly quadruple by 2040. Imagine the impact on our health, and our children’s health, if the amount of plastic we burn grows at the same pace. What will become of the air we breathe?
The time to act is now. We have the power to build a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable future.
The writer is President, The Aga Khan University.