Plastic waste has evolved from being a mere environmental concern to a pressing crisis in Pakistan, mirroring global trends. Especially in light of the Earth Day (22nd April) theme; “Plastic Vs Planet”, Pakistan faces an urgent need to address its escalating plastic waste crisis, with the country ranking as the sixth largest plastic waste generator worldwide, the scale of the issue is humongous. Annually, Pakistan produces approximately 49.6 million tons of solid waste, with nearly 9% comprising plastics, encompassing a range of single-use items like bags, packaging materials, and cutlery. Moreover, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Pakistan estimation, a significant portion, approximately 65%, of the waste found along the country’s coast consists of water bottles, caps, and plastic packaging, posing a severe threat to marine life and biodiversity. Moreover, approximately 70% of plastic waste is mismanaged and this can also be attributed to unsustainable production and consumption patterns, inadequate waste management infrastructure, and weak regulatory enforcement due to policy inconsistencies. Additionally, Pakistan’s role as an importer of plastic waste from various countries also aggravates the domestic plastic waste crisis, compounding environmental challenges. At both the federal and provincial levels, the government has tried to address the issue through various regulations, including the imposition of shadow bans on single-use plastic items. However, these efforts have yielded limited success due to a lack of widespread awareness and policy coherence across the country. Notably, Punjab boasts a comparatively better waste management system than other provinces. Yet, despite the regulations like Punjab Prohibition Ordinance of 2002, which prohibits the manufacture, sale, use, and import of polythene bags with less than 15 microns thickness, its enforcement has been lacking also because of the absence of eco-friendly alternatives in the market. Moreover, while the Punjab Plastic Management Strategy, notified last year, appears well-meaning, it necessitates a thorough reassessment. Implementing policies such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) within an unfeasible six-month window might not produce the intended results. This strategy imposes upon producers the obligation to institute a mechanism for the retrieval of plastic waste stemming from their merchandise, coupled with financial and operational responsibility. Nevertheless, this abbreviated timeframe may not allow ample room for producers to devise a viable system, particularly considering the essential investments and infrastructure requirements. Ensuring government ownership and linkage with industry is crucial for fostering circularity and sustainability in the sector. Before enacting such regulations, it is crucial to lay down a strong groundwork for managing plastic waste effectively. This entails crafting a detailed strategy that includes segregating waste at its source and establishing a recycling infrastructure. Moreover, before implementing bans or restrictions on plastic products, it is essential to ensure that consumers have easy access to environmentally friendly alternatives. In other provinces including Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as well as in Balochistan, inadequate enforcement of regulations hampers effective plastic waste management, with urban centres like Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta facing significant challenges due to open dumping and improper disposal Furthermore, in addition to the aforementioned provincial regulations the corporate sector is playing a crucial role in addressing plastic waste management in Pakistan. The corporate sector, startups, and SMEs in Pakistan are actively engaged in addressing the challenge through initiatives centred on plastic waste collection, recycling and upcycling. Some of these endeavours encompass innovative projects aimed at repurposing plastic waste into recycled products, construction materials, furniture, and various other useful products. Collaborative initiatives such as the CoRe Alliance are striving towards reducing plastic packaging waste by advocating for a circular economy and encouraging plastic waste collection and recycling by producer organizations. Aside from the plastic waste management crisis, insufficient investments in recycling infrastructure pose a significant challenge. In Pakistan, the recycling industry heavily relies on the informal sector and the labour of Afghan migrants, who play a crucial role in waste collection and recycling. However, following the government’s decision to repatriate Afghan refugees, the recycling industry has faced substantial difficulties. With many Afghan waste pickers leaving, the industry has experienced a downturn, leading to increased labour costs and further destabilizing the sector. Plastics are also been intricately linked to the climate change crisis, because of their significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. A recent report on the “Climate Impacts of Plastics” by GRID Adrenal, a UNEP Partner, highlights that plastics release substantial amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Plastics account for approximately 4% of all global greenhouse gas emissions annually. This impact spans every stage of the plastic life cycle, from raw material extraction to production, consumption, and disposal. Therefore, to effectively combat climate change, it is imperative to manage plastic waste efficiently. In this context, the Living Indus Initiative emerges as a pivotal solution to improving plastic waste management and advancing climate action in Pakistan. Developed jointly by the Ministry of Climate Change and the United Nations in Pakistan, under the directive of the Prime Minister’s Committee on Climate Change, this initiative aims to restore the ecological health of the Indus Basin. It presents a menu of 25 high-impact interventions for policymakers, practitioners, and civil society to spearhead and support ecological restoration efforts. A key intervention proposed by the Living Indus Initiative is the establishment of “zero plastic waste cities” within the Indus Basin. This initiative aligns directly with Pakistan’s commitment to the Global Plastic Action Plan (GPAP), which seeks to foster a circular economy for plastics. Targeting major cities in the basin, including Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Multan, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, and others, the initiative aims to minimize plastic waste effectively in these urban centres. By leveraging the private sector and amplifying existing initiatives, the purpose is to make substantial contributions to the broader efforts aimed at combating plastic pollution in Pakistan. As a way forward and to address plastic waste management in Pakistan there is a need to adopt a circular economy approach, and for this a comprehensive strategy is necessary. This involves immediate investment in waste management infrastructure, including collection, sorting, and disposal systems, alongside upgrading existing facilities for efficient collection and recycling. In particular, encouraging investments in the capacity-building programs of personnel involved in waste management companies and municipal governments is needed. Additionally, the government needs to work on a “national waste management strategy” to improve basic waste management and establish efficient waste collection and sorting at-source mechanisms. Simultaneously, measures must be taken to reduce single-use plastics over the next five years, promoting research and development of eco-friendly alternatives. Long-term investment in advanced recycling technologies, coupled with regulatory updates and enforcement, is crucial to ensure compliance with waste management regulations. Collaboration with other countries to address imported plastic waste and the establishment of localized solutions tailored to different provinces are imperative. Intensive community awareness campaigns and education initiatives are needed to engage citizens and foster behavioural change. Establishing industry-academia linkages can facilitate research on plastic waste management, while capacity building within the waste management sector, including regular waste audits, can improve data collection and analysis. Implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies within the next five years, support for the informal sector, and regular policy reviews are also crucial. Additionally, incentives for industry to adopt sustainable practices and scaling up startups that provide solutions to plastic waste are essential components of this strategy. Ensuring government ownership and linkage with industry, including producer organizations and recyclers, are crucial for fostering circularity and sustainability in the sector. With the 4th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the horizon, set to finalize a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on plastic pollution in Canada this April, Pakistan must synchronize its efforts regarding the plastic waste crisis with international obligations. It’s imperative to promptly tackle plastic management at the national level. Only through collaborative efforts involving the federal and provincial governments, along with active participation from the private sector, can Pakistan adequately address its plastic waste challenges and play its part in fostering a cleaner, sustainable future for future generations. The writer Heads the Ecological Sustainability and Circular Economy at SDPI and is also a focal person for the Living Indus Initiative from SDPI.