Ebadat Ur Rehman Babar

Can Pakistan’s plastic waste really stack up to twice the height of the K2? That’s the claim made in “Rethinking Pakistan’s Relationship with Plastics1”report by the UNDP Innovation Accelerator Lab (2021). The report states that Pakistan generates 3.9 million tons of plastic waste annually, enough, it says, to form a pile 16,500 meters high, or twice the height of the K2, the second highest mountain on Earth.

As a researcher committed to scientific integrity, I decided to test this striking metaphor using basic volumetric analysis.

Let’s start with the numbers. The average density of mixed plastic waste is approximately 900 kilograms per cubic meter. Using the basic formula for volume (Volume = Mass ÷ Density), we can estimate the total space this waste would occupy. For example, 3.3 million tons of plastic waste, equivalent to 3.3 billion kilograms, would occupy about 3.67 million cubic meters.

Now, imagine stacking this volume vertically on a square base measuring 100 meters by 100 meters, roughly the size of a city block. Using simple math (Height = Volume ÷ Area), the UNDP estimate would produce a plastic tower about 367 meters high. Even with this higher UNDP estimate, the pile wouldn’t reach even 5% of K2’s height of 8,611 meters, let alone the 16,500 meters claimed. If we instead use the more recent 2-million-ton estimate from the SWITCH-Asia “Plastic Policies in Pakistan (2025) report”, it will take up approximately 2.22 million cubic meters and the pile shrinks further to just 222 meters in height.2

For perspective, even if we consider K2’s topographic prominence, how much it rises above its immediate surroundings, which is 4,017 meters3, the plastic stack will still fall drastically short. In fact, you’d need nearly 18 towers of the 222-meter kind stacked on top of one another just to match K2’s rise above its local terrain.

While such vivid analogies may be intended to raise public awareness, they can often backfire. Exaggerated statistics presented without clear methodology risk undermining public trust and fuelling scepticism, even when the underlying concern is valid. For a country like Pakistan, whose global image is already challenged by environmental and developmental narratives, maintaining credibility is crucial. Overstated claims, no matter how well-intentioned, can weaken the impact of both research and advocacy efforts, making it harder to engage policymakers, investors, and the public in meaningful action.

Environmental communication must therefore strike a careful balance between urgency and accuracy. The real crisis is not just the sheer volume of plastic waste but the systemic failure to manage and recycle it effectively. According to the SWITCH-Asia 2025 report, only 3% of Pakistan’s plastic waste is currently recycled, highlighting a profound gap in sustainable waste management systems. This sobering fact, more than any metaphorical “plastic mountain,” should guide our efforts to address the country’s environmental challenges and improve its standing on the world stage.

No matter whether Pakistan produces 2 million or 3.9 million tons of plastic waste yearly, it is obvious that proactive action is needed. Based on World Economic Forum, 70 percent of this waste is not handled properly4 that lead to pollution in rivers such as the Indus and burning of plastics also causes air pollution risking the health of people.

What makes the crisis serious is the excess waste as well as the lacking management capabilities. Cities such as Karachi create a lot of waste and it exceeds the ability of current collection and recycling systems. The main sources are open dumps and informal recycling which increase the risk to both the environment and health.5 Such waste mismanagement also brings in major economic costs. In regions where tourism matters such as Azad Kashmir, pollution from plastic waste makes visiting less attractive, putting local jobs and important services at risk.6

Although laws banning single-use plastics have been introduced, enforcement is poor, and they do not have much impact because they are not consistently followed and monitored.7 Efforts to control plastic waste in Pakistan must involve multiple sectors collaboration. Precise waste collection and processing can be promoted with Public-Private Partnerships. Helping the informal waste sector grow through recognized cooperatives and official dealings with cities will support both good working conditions and higher recycling rates. It is important for the government to put in place a National EPR Framework, including setting achievable recycling targets to make manufacturers responsible for all core aspects of their products.

Furthermore, people should be educated to reduce waste and dispose of it correctly by launching targeted campaigns. By joining waste sorting efforts, communities can take control of how their environment is managed. Additionally, SMEs play a key role in providing recycling services at the local level and can help with pioneering ideas for bigger impact.

Still, to be effective, action should rely on reliable data, not on feelings or hype. A transparent and regularly updated national database is needed immediately in Pakistan to properly monitor the amount of plastic waste produced, processed and recycled. Without consistent and accurate information, policies risk falling short or, worse, diverting focus from the systemic solutions that are truly essential. For citizens, businesses, and policymakers to engage meaningfully with the plastic crisis, our starting point must be facts, not exaggerations. The mountain we face is real, but its height is measured not in meters, but in missed opportunities for sustainable change.

(The writer is an Environmental Scientist, working as a Research Associate at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI))

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1.https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/pk/Intelligence-Report.pdf

2.https://www.switch-asia.eu/site/assets/files/4387/plastic_policies_pk.pdf

3.https://www.beautifulworld.com/asia/pakistan/k2/

4.https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/11/4-ways-pakistan-is-tackling-plastic-waste-and-pollution/

5. https://islamkhabar.com/2023/11/30/the-crisis-of-plastic-waste-management-in-pakistan/

6. https://cissajk.org.pk/2024/06/05/the-impact-of-plastic-bag-pollution-on-tourism-and-health-in-azad-kashmir/

7.https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/1264026-combating-plastic-waste?