Under the Chief Minister’s Green Credits Programme, the Punjab government has signed an agreement with a private company to recycle single-use plastic.
Using Chinese technology, the private company will locally produce and install machines at four major universities in Lahore starting next month. Similar machines will also be placed in markets and bazaars across the city.
The machine has two compartments. Press Button A, insert the plastic bottle, enter your phone number, and then press Button B. Green credits will appear on the machine’s screen and can also be viewed via an app.
According to the company’s chairman, Gulfam Abid, around 500 tonnes of plastic bottle waste is generated daily. With the help of these machines, plastic bottles and single-use plastic utensils will be recycled to make footpaths, road patchwork, and bricks.
He said that inserting 20 one-and-a-half-litre bottles or 40 half-litre bottles will earn users Rs 1000 in instant cash.
Not just ordinary citizens, but also Lahore’s 18,000 scrap dealers will benefit from green credits. They can connect through the app, and company staff will visit them directly, collect the bottles, and pay them.
