Despite the ban on polythene bags, they are still being produced, sold, and used across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), laments Seema Babar, a social worker, who makes cloth bags and distributes them free of cost to people, in order to discourage the use of plastic bags and protect the environment from their harmful effects.

Forty-nine-year-old Babar, from Pirpai village of Nowshera district in K-P is leading an initiative to reduce plastic waste in our society for the last some six years.

“Few years ago, when the provincial government banned the manufacturing and sale of plastic bags in the province, I decided to make cotton bags and distribute them among people to raise awareness and promote the use of cloth bags, instead of plastic which cause pollution. “I first started this initiative in my village and later expanded the campaign to the main city and other parts of Nowshera district,” Seema Babar told The Express Tribune.

She runs a women’s skill centre in her village, where women and young girls come to learn sewing and other handicraft skills.

“During the training, the participants first make cloth bags using various types of raw and old fabric provided by relatives and neighbours. The bags carry anti-plastic and awareness slogans. After initial training, they practice stitching clothes and learn other skills,” she said.

She added that in the past most plastic pollution was seen in urban areas, but now the waste can be observed in fields, crops, and irrigation channels in rural areas as well, affecting the environment where people once breathed fresh air and enjoyed lush greenery.

“When the ban on use of plastic