Overview
- The Punjab Environment Protection Agency has ordered that businesses must stop charging customers separately for plastic shopping bags and will enforce the rule through fines and legal action.
- Penalties range from Rs5,000 to Rs50,000 and authorities may seal premises or register criminal cases for serious violations.
- The EPA set up a consumer complaints helpline at 1373 for people to report shops that continue to charge for plastic bags.
- Businesses may still charge for reusable or recyclable bags made from cloth or other non‑plastic materials, while the ban targets plastic bags marketed and sold as a separate product.
- Authorities and observers warn enforcement will be difficult because bags thinner than 75 microns are still widely used in Lahore markets, which could limit the policy’s immediate impact and affect small vendors who rely on bag sales for income.