Speakers at a seminar urged the government to ensure policy support to promote the plastic recycling industry in the country.

They said such industries are growing fast. But they need a more supportive role from the government, so that they can get wholehearted cooperation and concerted action by all to boost the recycling industry.

The speakers made the call at a Waste Management Expo and Seminar on "Plastic Waste Recycling for Sustainability and Investment" at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Plastic Products Business Promotion Council (PPBPC), Ministry of Commerce and Bangladesh Plastic Products Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) jointly organised the event, which was addressed by Commerce Secretary Md Salim Uddin; Chief Executive Officer of Business Promotion Council (BPC) and Joint Secretary of Ministry of Commerce Nahid Afroz and Md Amin Hilali, Senior Vice President of FBCCI.

The speakers said that large industries in the plastic sector are doing waste management by setting up recycling plants in their own backyards. As a result, currently about 30 percent of plastic waste are being recycled.

Dr Kazi Bayezid Kabir, professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of BUET, presenting a keynote paper in the seminar, said that various recycling factories have already been established in the plastic sector. The recycling industry is developing in Bangladesh, which should increase more quickly.

He said that various organisations are coming forward to invest in the waste management and the plastic recycling sector.

He noted that Bangladesh is also exporting recycled grains to different countries of the world. On the other hand, recycling is producing products from raw materials and earning foreign exchange through export.

BPGMEA President Samim Ahmed and Senior Vice President KM Iqbal Hossain also spoke on the occasion.

Later, the guests visited a special showcasing with advanced and modern recycling products.