The government has decided to strengthen the drive against polythene shopping bags, said Nasir-ud-Daulah, Additional Secretary of the Home Affairs Ministry.

“The number of operations carried out by police, RAB, the armed forces, and other law enforcement agencies will also be increased,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with the representatives from plastic industry-related manufacturers, traders, and export organisations and law enforcers at the Secretariat.

The meeting was held to implement the ban on the production and use of polythene shopping bags and to make the ongoing operations more effective.

The meeting held an elaborate discussion on how to enforce the ban on polyethylene shopping bags and how to strengthen and make the campaign more effective, he said.

Mentioning that the public and various stakeholders can play an important role in this regard, Nasir-ud-Daulah sought cooperation from all.

Initially, the production of polyethylene shopping bags used in supermarkets will be seized and the use of polyethylene shopping bags in the market will be prohibited, he said.

Gradually, the ban will extend to other types of banned polyethylene products, he added.

Replying to a question, additional secretary Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and chief of the monitoring committee Tapan Kumar Biswas, said “We are looking for alternatives to polyethylene bags.”

The Ministry of Textiles and Jute has already taken initiatives to produce environment-friendly shopping bags, he said.

Besides, the environment-friendly shopping bags are being produced in private sectors but the representatives of polyethylene bag manufacturers, exporters, and traders assured of their full cooperation in this regard.

Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, representatives from the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Plastic Packaging Roll Manufacturers Owners and Trade Association and Bangladesh Plastic Traders Association were present at the meeting.

The government launched a nationwide campaign to end the use of polyethylene shopping bags on November 1, 2024.