Plastic pollution has become a major issue worldwide, as plastic is a non-biodegradable substance. Efforts are being made globally to create alternative means to it. In the Pakistani province of Punjab, work is also being done to create an alternative to plastic in the form of ARPET.
Raja Jahangir Anwar, the Director-General of the Punjab Food Authority, told ARY News during a morning show interview that various companies have been given permission to produce alternative plastics by the Food Authority.
Raja Jahangir stated that the plastic used in food items, known as food-grade plastic, is being recycled to reduce plastic pollution. He also shared that 12 lakh plastic water bottles are used every minute worldwide, and since 1950, 1.9 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced, all of which still exist.
He further explained that plastic does not perish and remains in the environment forever. Thus, discarded plastic is polluting the land and oceans, contaminating our food and making us sick.
Raja Jahangir added that laboratory tests would be conducted on recycled plastic to ensure that industrial plastic is not being used to produce food-grade plastic.
