RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Experts on Saturday warned plastic pollution damaging to the fresh water and the oceans, saying that the unsolvable material poses threats to the rivers and marine life.

They urged the society to deal with the issue seriously and step up efforts to scale back the threat with reducing spread of the plastic materials in all their shapes.

“Act now otherwise we will lose rich biodiversity in a very short span of time,” they said at the coastal cleanup drive that the WWF-Pakistan organized at the Hawks Bay, Sandpit and Sea View in collaboration with the Coca-Cola.

Over 800 participants from academia, students, volunteers and concerned citizens joined the drive and collected a total of 140 bags of garbage in a radius six kilometers across the beach area.

Dr Babar Khan, Regional Head Sindh and Balochistan, WWF-Pakistan said that plastic pollution is adversely affecting marine turtles, sea birds and other diverse marine life.

“Many of the creatures we love, such as whales, dolphins, birds and turtles, die because of plastic pollution,” he told the participants.

He also said that plastic consumption is growing that alarms the society to step up its efforts to help place a ban on its production and discourage its use.

He emphasized that the citizens should contribute to the drive by making lifestyle changes like recycling more or drinking from reusable water bottles. “Such small acts can have bigger impact and can help conserve nature,” he said, adding that discouraging single-use plastics and promoting sustainable food consumption can help make a real difference.

Fahad Qadir, Director Public Affairs and Communications at Coca-Cola said: “To eradicate plastic pollution, Coca-Cola, earlier in 2018 pledged to recycle 100 percent of its plastic packaged bottles that would be achieved by 2030.” He said that the PET bottles are 100 percent recyclable.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, through beach cleanups and other volunteer activities, we want to sensitize our consumers for taking action now and protect our environment to create a Pakistan without Waste – a joint programme supported by Coca-Cola in partnership with WWF to tackle plastic pollution,” he added.

Farah Waheed, Coordinator Corporate Partnership and Fundraising at WWF-Pakistan said that untreated waste being discharged into Arabian Sea is destroying marine life and polluting the sea. She said that the Indus River, one of the 10 largest freshwater rivers in the world, is also becoming polluted from industrial and domestic waste and effluents.