The Menace of Plastics and Solutions in Law: An Analytical study

Abstract

Our world today faces environmental degradation in the fonn of plastic pollution; the scale of which is so extensive that it is estimated that at the continuing rate of plastic production and use, plastics may outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050. Pakistan, like the rest of the world has landfills brimming with plastic waste and yet more is being produced at honifying rates. This has created a major environmental hazard, not only for the human population but also for the other organisms, especially, the marine life. Plastics are very useful because of their extra-long lives but this same quality is the biggest problem- they never go away! A piece of plastic once produced usually takes about 400 years to clear out from the environment and some types take even longer. In other words, every piece of plastic produced till date exists in our environment today in one fonn or another, leading to ever-heaping dumps of waste. Legal research in this regard can prove to be an effective way to find ways out of a problem like this. The apex court in Pakistan has already declared the right to a healthy environment as a fundamental right to life under Article 9 of the constitution in the landmark judgement of the Shahla Zia vs. W APDA case in 1994 [PLD 1994 SC 693]. In the light of this, legislation is a very strong weapon that once properly executed can help control the monstrous effects of this pollutant. Similarly, numerous alternatives to plastics have been introduced to the world that only need to be adopted and awareness needs to be spread, and this can all be done through an effective legal research.