At first glance, the grand complex might appear to be a conventional farmhouse. But there’s something truly remarkable about it. Every element here — be it tables, chairs, sofas, swings, manhole covers, or even frames for cherished paintings — is meticulously crafted from recycled plastic and wood waste.

“Everything you encounter here is eco-conscious. We minimize waste as much as possible,” affirmed Syed Belal Termezi, a dedicated member of Green Earth. This pioneering recycling company is at the forefront of transforming waste into reusable, environmentally friendly materials.

Adding to its distinctiveness, the project was initiated by Zafar Bhatti, the son of Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, a hero of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani war. Beyond the handsomely adorned walls lies a contrasting world, nestled in the southern outskirts of Lahore.

Piles of plastic, wood, empty bottles, and other disposable items are methodically arranged. A multitude of workers, some lacking masks, gloves, and hearing protection, diligently sort through these materials within an expansive workshop.

The sorted items undergo a thorough cleansing process in an expansive washing machine before being allocated to various departments.

“We don’t squander the water used for cleaning waste. Instead, we recycle it for other cleaning tasks,” shared Termezi with a group of environmental journalists during a tour arranged by the Institute of Urbanism, an Islamabad-based think tank.

The spotlight at Green Earth rests on the portable kitchens and restrooms, ingeniously crafted from recycled plastic sourced from shopping bags. The versatile kitchen can seamlessly morph into a bedroom.

Furthermore, from milk cartons, they extract pulp, aluminum, and plastic, which are later transformed into raw materials for producing paper, roofing membranes, manhole covers, and other essentials. The pulp primarily finds its way to paper mills.

Discarded bottles are ingeniously repurposed into benches, chairs, and staple fibers. This plant, which exports its recycled creations, notably plastic benches, has the capacity to recycle 400 to 450 tonnes of waste daily.

• A Booming Global Recycling Movement According to the United Nations Environment Programme, only about 9% of plastic waste worldwide gets recycled; the remainder is destined for landfills. The surge in solid and plastic waste poses an imminent threat to the global environment. However, this grave challenge can be turned into an economic opportunity through a robust recycling industry.

Recycling has transformed into a thriving global sector in recent decades. In Pakistan, though, this prospect remains largely untapped, despite the country’s immense potential for startups and companies to transmute waste into lucrative and eco-friendly products.

In recent years, however, the public and private sectors have started recognizing this unexplored avenue. A testament to this is the visit to a recycling facility set up by the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC), one of South Asia’s largest waste collection centers in terms of operations and manpower.

With a workforce of 15,000, the company gathers 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of waste daily. The LWMC’s recycling unit, situated at the Mahmood Booti landfill site on the outskirts of Lahore, can handle 100 to 200 tonnes of waste per day.

The Lakhodair landfill, spanning 200 hectares and located a few kilometers from Mahmood Booti, harvests methane gas from accumulated waste heaps and supplies it to local industries.

Another key player, Lasani Fibre Industries, specializes in producing regenerated polyester fibers from PET bottles. Last year alone, they recycled over 18,000 tonnes of PET, equivalent to 6 million bottles. The company offers 32 products derived from PET bottles and boasts a daily production capacity of 55 tonnes of polyester fiber.

Despite the widespread economic and environmental benefits, experts caution that recycling isn’t an unlimited remedy for the escalating waste issue, particularly with plastics. Instead, emphasis should be placed on reducing daily waste generation and decreasing dependence on plastics.

The excessive use of plastics, especially single-use bags, not only jeopardizes marine life but also obstructs waterways and natural streams. The presence of microplastics in drinking water, food, and air exacerbates long-term health concerns.

“Recycling, reusing, and more are strategies for waste management, but the core challenge lies in curbing waste generation. To ensure our sustainable future, we must embrace the ‘no waste’ philosophy,” advised Dr. Ejaz Ahmad, Senior Programme Fellow at the Institute of Urbanism in Islamabad.

• A Call for an Alternate Economic Path The debate over banning plastic products has persisted in Pakistan for years. Despite various attempts to outlaw plastic bags, limited success has been achieved due to economic considerations and inadequate public awareness.

Across Pakistan, tens of thousands of people rely on the plastic bag industry for employment. A sudden and complete ban could lead to job losses, particularly when the middle and lower-middle classes are struggling to sustain their livelihoods. Consequently, the government and environmental agencies should devise an alternative economic strategy for these individuals.

Government support, coupled with the nurturing of the recycling industry, could invigorate the country’s faltering economy. However, before that, safety standards, especially concerning worker health, must be established.

Similar to many other sectors, the recycling industry grapples with subpar working conditions. Many laborers lack adequate protective gear or fail to utilize it when handling waste. The onus lies on relevant government bodies and the companies within this sector to enforce safety regulations and prioritize the well-being of these workers who turn waste into wealth.