Golam Rabbi, a resident of New Eskaton, Dhaka, engaged in a dispute with an attendant at the cash counter of a Shwapno super shop outlet in the area over a Tk 11 charge for a jute bag. The altercation arose after the government banned the use of polyethylene bags in such shops from October 1, 2024. Ultimately, Rabbi left the outlet without purchasing grocery items worth about Tk 1,300, upset by the Tk 11 charge for the jute bag. The sales operators tried to explain by showing him the government order banning plastic bags in super shops, but he remained unconvinced. Bangladesh seeks climate justice: Syeda Rizwana Hasan Incidents like this are becoming common as sales operators now supply fish, meat, and other frozen items in paper bags instead of polybags following the government's embargo on plastic bags in super shops. Bangladesh generates about 87,000 tonnes of single-use plastics annually, much of which ends up as waste. As a result, the government has begun enforcing a ban on single-use plastics as part of broader efforts to reduce plastic waste, starting with grocery bags. Experts said that Bangladesh has been grappling with a significant plastic pollution problem. The country's rapid industrialization and growing population have increased demand for plastic products. This, coupled with inadequate waste management infrastructure, has led to widespread plastic pollution, particularly in urban areas and waterways, they added. In response to this issue, the interim government issued a gazette notification on August 27, 2024, to phase out single-use plastics (SUP) in 17 sectors, in accordance with an order from the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change issued on June 20, 2024. The notification instructs immediate implementation of the ban to protect the environment and reduce pollution. Stakeholders Shamim Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) told UNB that an inter-ministerial meeting is a must before issuing such an order banning SUP in 17 sectors, otherwise, 6000 industries will be heavily affected and thousands of labour would be unemployed. “Government officials attended such meetings earlier without any home study on the issue, as a result, they (officials) do not understand what decision will be fruitful, and what the alternative of the plastic products is,” he pointed out from his long-time experience. Recently joined a workshop in Japan on plastic products and visited Singapore. BPGMEA President Ahmed said these developed countries of Asia are using plastic in every sector like Bangladesh. But they (Japan and Singapore) collect 100 percent of plastic waste and recycle it. He said considering inadequate supply, higher prices and lack of adoption capacity of plastic alternative sources, developed countries like Japan and Singapore cannot be successful in using the alternative of plastic so far. Most of the countries in the world are focusing on well management of recycling plastic waste, which is a good alternative so far, he said. Shamim Ahmed giving examples of the export-oriented and domestic consumption packaging sector said that packaging is not possible without Iodised salt that comes from plastic, edible oil packaging without plastic bottles and liquid milk packaging is impossible. The resolution adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly on March 2, 2022, has focused on establishing effective recycling infrastructure considering the proportion of plastic in the circular economy globally. Proposal to manage plastic waste from stockholders- The BPGMEA has put forward a proposal to protect the environment and industries before the invention of suitable alternatives of plastic products. It suggested plastic waste into wealth by developing the right waste management plans for Bangladesh. Developing awareness among common people to dispose of plastic in a specific place, including textbook curriculum about waste management, setting up enough ‘BIN’ for plastic waste in different places including bus-rail stations, parks, and walkways. Shoppers back polythene ban, worry about alternatives Use Local Government Institute (LGI) to enhance knowledge adoption and supply equipment at subsidised rates for setting up plastic waste management plants in urban areas. Introduced plastic circularity for sustainable waste management, through which the government should arrange technology supply and provide loans at reduced interest rates for setting waste management plans in Bangladesh like other developed countries. Banning plastic production is not a solution, so Bangladesh should follow in this regard otherwise industry operation would be quite impossible. Such as food processing, Pharmaceuticals packages, hospital equipment, agricultural modernisation, and export packaging sectors would not run without plastic products. Banning steps will affect these industries heavily, said the industry stockholders. Statistics of plastic-related industries According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data published in 2021, SL Industry Sector Total industries Production value (TK) 1 Manufacturing of food products 9397  Tk1263747 million 2 Manuf of Beverages  37  Tk123330 million 3 Manufacturing of Tobacco products 181  Tk286171 million  4 Manuf. Of Chemical & chemical products 251 Tk121526 million 5 Pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals & Botanical products 149 Tk268624 million 6 Manuf. Rubber & plastic products 943 Tk661469 million   Client Opinion: Unilever Bangladesh, a leading fast-moving consumer goods producer is a big customer of many SUP products, which company is marketing its products in Bangladesh and globally in plastic packaging. This type of company is not a producer of plastic products, but Unilever is the customer for packaging its products as single-use plastic packets or bottles. Shamima Akhter, Director of Corporate Affairs of Unilever, told UNB that publishing a phase-out list of plastic products is appreciated. She, however, emphasised inclusive dialogue with stockholders for awareness and priorities of products for implementing the phase-out plan. Shamima said that Unilever is marketing with 1.3 million shop owners in Bangladesh for a large number of products that have been packaged in plastic products for as long as considering good quality ensuring products in plastic packaging. “If an alternative packaging system is developed at a reasonable rate, Unilever will use that, until the invention alternative, it is essential plastic packaging,” she pointed out. She also emphasised more research on it and focuses on recycling single-use plastic products considering its no alternative.

Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, posing significant threats to both human health and the environment. As we observe World Environment Day today (June 5, 2023), it is crucial to shed light on the harmful effects of plastic pollution and raise awareness about the urgent need for action. This global observance serves as a timely reminder that the choices we make today have far-reaching consequences for the well-being of our planet and future generations. Harmful Effects of Plastic Pollution on Human Health Plastic pollution has become a major environmental concern in recent years, and its impact on human health is a growing area of research. Here are some of the harmful effects of plastic pollution on human health. Exposure to Microplastic Microplastics, small plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size, have infiltrated various aspects of our lives, including our food and water sources. These tiny particles are found in high concentrations in the oceans, freshwater bodies, and even the air we breathe. Seafood, such as fish and shellfish, often contain microplastics due to their ingestion of plastic debris in the marine environment. As a result, when we consume these contaminated seafood, we unknowingly ingest microplastics. Read more: Effects of Air Pollution on Unborn Children, Neonates, Infants Microplastics can accumulate in our bodies over time, causing potential harm. These particles can pass through the intestinal wall and migrate to other organs, leading to inflammation, tissue damage, and disruption of normal cellular functions. Some studies suggest that microplastics may also have the potential to transport harmful chemicals and pathogens, further exacerbating health risks.

A 20-year-old Indian has been walking across Asian countries – to generate awareness on plastic pollution. Rohan Agarwal, a resident of Nagpur under the Maharashtra state, has reached Bangladesh after walking 15,000 kms. He is a student of Government Sikkim Professional University in India. Rohan said he started walking from the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on October 24 in 2020. Read more: Plastics used in farming piling up in soil: UN After traveling to 27 states of his country, Rohan came to Bangladesh through Bilonia border in Feni on October 8, 2022. He visited Chattogram Hill Tracts and came to Chandpur on November 10. In Chandpur, he met the deputy commissioner, municipality mayor and journalists at the local press club and delivered awareness speech – on the dangers of plastic pollution – at several educational institutions of the district. “This is my journey to save the planet from plastic pollution. I came to Bangladesh from India and meeting many people along the way,” Rohan said. He said the world is not only for humans; animals and plants also share the planet. “So, you must be aware of the environment. It is the responsibility of all people.” Read more: Innovative, smart solutions must for plastic waste management: Tazul Islam “Wherever I go, I talk about the plastic pollution in public places, including schools and colleges. I tell everyone that they should protect the environment,” the youth added.

Bangladesh is  committed to supporting the Global Plastic Treaty in the upcoming United Nations Environment Assembly 5.2,    Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md. Shahab Uddin has said. The minister said this at a virtual policy dialogue organized by Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) on Saturday.  The dialogue discussed the issues regarding the Global Plastic Treaty approach in UNEA 5.2. The minister said, “The Government of Bangladesh participated actively in the previous sessions. We will take part in the upcoming fifth UN Environment Assembly. It will take place in 2022 to discuss the possible head start of negotiations of a global agreement to curb plastic pollution. We are hoping that countries from all over the world will support the requirement for a global agreement, which will lead to the proposal requests an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a new legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. It will be established at UNEA 5.2.” According to panelists David Azoulay, Geneva Managing Attorney, Director of Environmental Health Program, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), “Bangladesh Govt. needs to focus particularly on waste fishing gear and the cheap plastic use in textile industries for the upcoming negotiation;” “Solo initiatives cannot combat the global crisis. We must follow how other nations are intervening regarding this matter and work together to achieve a reduction in plastic pollution which will lead us to a global agreement”, said the ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh, ITO Naoki. ESDO chairperson, Syed Marghub Murshed said, “It is really concerning because Bangladesh is one of the most plastic-polluted countries in South Asia. Plastic has a significant environmental impact. All of these facts are well known, but the plastic pollution situation is worsening day by day in Bangladesh. Because it is a worldwide issue, the solution must be global as well.” According to the United Nations, 127 countries have passed regulations on single-use plastic bags to incentivize consumers to use reusable bags when shopping due to a continuous significant contribution from several international organizations like EIA, CIEL, GAIA, ESDO, BFFP, IPEN, Earthworks, etc. Moving Forward, an international legally binding agreement that addresses the entire life cycle of plastics, from the extraction of raw materials to legacy plastic pollution is highly required considering the current situation of global plastic pollution, discussants at the dialogue said.

The government is finalising a sustainable plastic management plan to build a plastic pollution-free Bangladesh, Environment Secretary Md Mostafa Kamal said Sunday. The initiative to build a plastic waste-free Bangladesh by implementing the 3R principle – reduce, reuse, recycle – will continue, Mostafa added. He was addressing the review meeting "Toward a Multisectoral Action Plan for Sustainable Plastic Management in Bangladesh" at the ministry. Now, 37 per cent of plastic waste is recycled. The action plan sets a target of recycling 50 per cent of plastics by 2025 and 80 per cent by 2030, reducing plastic waste production by 30 per cent by 2030, and avoiding single-use plastics by 90 per cent by 2026. At the meeting, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) Jasim Uddin recommended banning the import of plastic waste from abroad. "The country's policy of reuse, recycling and reduction of plastic waste will not be useful if plastic waste is imported from abroad."

In the monsoon, waterlogging is one of the greatest concerns for city dwellers. It has been found that the majority of the waste that clogs the drainage are plastic bottles and plastic bags. Experts have attributed this to a lack of public awareness and good practice about the environment among city dwellers and said it would be impossible for the government or the city corporation to solve the waterlogging problem if people don’t take responsibility. To reduce the volume of plastic added  into the drainage system and raise awareness, Dhaka South City Corporation’s Ward-21 councilor Mohammad Asaduzzaman has set up a bottle-shaped plastic collection point at Dhaka University's TSC area, and likely to put another 7 bottle-shaped plastic collection points across the 21st ward of Dhaka South City Corporation. Also read: Plastic waste increases from 178 tons per day in 2005 to 646 tons in 2020 in Dhaka The placard attached to the bottle reads "Put the plastic waste inside the bottle and help put an end to water-logging." Contacted, councilor Mohammad Asaduzzaman told UNB, “Although WASA was supposed to clean the drain in the previous years, this year the responsibility has come on us. When we were conducting the drainage cleaning program, we noticed that plastic waste was mainly blamed for hindering water flow and logging in the drainage system. We have collected approximately one and a half thousand bottles from almost every manhole.” Also read: Fighting plastic pollution: EcoVia working to transform RMG waste “So, I planned to set up such a bottle-shaped waste bin to motivate people to throw away these bottles in a dustbin, it is possible to prevent unwanted waterlogging. I believe that a unique awareness program can motivate people in a positive way,” he added. He claimed that he personally sponsored full money for the project. “In a program sponsored by Coca-Cola, I saw that the whole stage was arranged in the shape of a Coke bottle. I thought my problem is also bottle centered so let’s do something with the bottle shape,” he explained.

Plastic waste has gone up from 178 tons per day in 2005 to 646 tons per day in 2020 in Dhaka city alone, Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, has said. Tembon said this at a virtual workshop jointly organized by the World Bank and the Department of Environment on Wednesday. World Bank announced the winners of the Plastic Circularity Innovation Challenge at the event. Also Read: Keep track of your plastic wastes online  The competition sought innovative solutions to combat plastic pollution in Bangladesh. “Addressing plastic pollution is a critical development agenda for ensuring green and smart growth,” said Tembon. The contest asked for innovative solutions in two categories: i) collection/sorting, recycling of low-valued plastics and single use plastics and ii) digital technology solutions in coping with plastic pollution such as mobile apps. Read Fighting plastic pollution: EcoVia working to transform RMG waste The three-member panel of judges included Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Chairman and CEO of PRAN-RFL; Cyrill Gutsch, CEO, Parley for the Oceans, and Marina Tabassum, Founder and Principal Architect of Marina Tabassum Architects. The short-listed teams made presentations today virtually in presence of the judges. Since 2019, the World Bank has partnered with the Department of Environment (DoE) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to organize a series of events on “Sustainable Management of Plastic to Leverage Circular Economy and Achieve SDG in Bangladesh.” This was the fourth event in the series. “The Government of Bangladesh is committed to reduce pollution and ensure sustainable green growth. We are taking a range of actions to curb pollution and improve waste management,” said Mr. Ziaul Hasan, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. “It is encouraging to see that our youth are so well plugged into the issue and bringing pragmatic solution to beat plastic pollution.” Also Read: BUILD wants to assist govt in promoting recycling, sustainable business practices Further, to raise awareness on plastic pollution among school children, the event also introduced an animated video. The contest was launched in November 2020 and funded by PROBLUE. The winners received 80,000 BDT each. The winners and winning proposals are (in alphabetical order): Team Amity: Formed by Farhana Haque, majoring in Civil Engineering and Sadman Fakid, majoring in Chemical Engineering – from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Their solution to #BeatPlasticPollution is an integrated management of plastic wastes where they present a micro-credit business model addressing unemployment and involving multi-modal approach to plastic waste collection, sorting and recycling. Read Solid waste management essential to save Cox's Bazar ... Team Blues: Comprised by Mahedy Hasan, Sakib Asrar, and Tanvirul Azim, three Electrical and Electronics Engineering students from North South University. They built an extremely budget-friendly floating-aquatic-waste-cleaning robot made up of readily available cheap materials and with minimal labor. This bot is made of floatable material that will hover on the water to collect the waste materials resulting in cleaning our water bodies. Read A Bangladesh startup that aims at saving the world! Team Garbageman: Garbageman Ltd. is an organization founded by Fahim Uddin Shuvo. He presented a ‘Recycling Platform,’ a free incentive-based digital way for environmentally conscious individuals, households, restaurants, and organizations who will donate recyclable waste for recycling and upcycling purpose. The platform will formalize the supply chain of recyclables and create opportunities for green jobs, and conduct research and development to create scope to recycle and upcycle waste. Read Bangladeshis lose over 1.8 years of lifespan to air pollution ... Team Green Beans: Comprised of Mohammad Rayed and Asma Arisham, students of Computer Science and Engineering at North South University, and Mahdi Ahmed, a student of Information and Communication Technology at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). The team came up with the model ‘Bottle Economy,’ a platform using USSD, a decade-old mobile communication protocol to connect the poor people and scavengers with local recyclers, allowing them to sell plastic wastes directly while limiting the role of intermediaries. It encourages them to recycle plastics by providing monetary incentives. Read Plastic face masks, hand sanitizer bottles trigger pollution

EcoVia, a biodegradable plastic manufacturing startup, is working to combat plastic pollution by offering environmentally friendly alternatives. The organization uses plant-based waste, such as apparel and paper waste, to make bioplastics. Plastic is responsible for polluting water bodies and soil, and for disrupting the ecological balance. The main reason behind this destruction is the non-biodegradable nature of plastic. One plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose if left on the earth or ocean. However, biodegradable products take much less time to decompose and do not harm the ecological balance.  Also read: Jute: The Greenest Alternative to Plastic Bags Moreover, with each kilogram of plastic produced, 6 kg carbon is released into the environment, leading to an increase in global warming. So, a group of three came together in 2019 to launch EcoVia to fight plastic pollution. They developed new products but were not satisfied with what they achieved. Finally, the group came up with the idea of making cellulosic bioplastic from cotton-based garments wastage. However, they did not have any capital to establish the company.  The group invested their money from part-time work, pocket money, prize money from small-scale business competitions into their startup. They scoured the market to identify the feasibility and viability of the product.  Also read: BYLC Ventures holds virtual entrepreneurship bootcamp The trio put in all their effort, time, and resources into this project. Finally, it bore fruit when they were able to prove that per kilogram of their bioplastic product would save around 5.5 kg of carbon footprint, as the product completely decomposes in a matter of 150 days. Through their impactful idea, they achieved success in multiple business and entrepreneurial competitions. They were elected as one of the South Asian regional winners of Climate Launchpad as well as being selected as one of the winners of cohort 1 of BYLC Ventures.  These competitions gave them a decent runway to operate on but they are constantly striving towards improving their product and gaining funds to grow their company. "The world is becoming more aware and cautious of climate change and plastic pollution. So, fortunately, the acceptance and demand for products like EcoVia are on the rise," Rashik Hassan, co-founder of EcoVia, said. "We are always trying to improve our existing product and also wish to introduce new product lines as well as ensure good revenue for our investors."  Read Global Youth Climate Summit 2021 urges pressing actions to combat climate change

Coronavirus lockdowns around the world have led to a dramatic 5 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions, according to UNCTAD estimates, but not all measures to contain the pandemic have had a positive impact on the environment.

A web application to track plastic wastes was launched in Bangladesh recently by ‘Dataful’, a data journalism initiative.