Market Assessment and Feasibility Study – Waste 4 Value Project

Islamabad and Rawalpindi together generate an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 tonnes of solid waste every single day, and plastic bottles and single-use plastics account for between 12 and 15 % of that total, translating to roughly 180–225 tonnes of plastic waste daily. Within this figure, PET bottles—primarily from bottled water and carbonated beverages—contribute approximately 60–70 tonnes per day, while the broader category of single-use plastics, which includes shopping bags, packaging films, sachets and disposable cutlery, adds another 120–155 tonnes per day. This burden is growing rapidly because the twin cities’ combined population is expanding at more than 4 % per year, largely driven by rural-urban migration and the emergence of new housing schemes. Rising purchasing power and the exponential growth of fast-moving consumer goods as well as e-commerce platforms have dramatically increased the consumption of single-use plastics, yet formal collection systems capture less than one fifth of the plastic waste that is generated.