The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on Thursday held a meeting with the World Bank regarding the implementation of a sustainable plastic management action plan to prevent plastic pollution in the country. At the same time, discussions were held with Lafarge Holcim regarding the implementation of Geocycle, a modern waste management system. Presided over by Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed, the meeting was attended, among others, by Additional Secretary (Climate Change) Md Moniruzzaman, Additional Secretary (Environment) Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary (Environmental Pollution Control) Md Mizanur Rahman, the World Bank's senior environmental expert Yoon Ju Alison Yee and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Executive Director Syeda Rizwana Hasan. Read: Anti-plastic laws not being implemented: Speakers At the meeting, on behalf of the World Bank, proposals were presented on policies and financing mechanisms for implementing the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan. The meeting also informed that the World Bank is preparing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as part of the implementation of the action plan. Syeda Rizwana Hasan spoke on the draft guidelines of EPR on plastics. Kaushik Mukherjee, head of LafargeHolcim's Geocycle Division, presented the Geocycle waste management approach to control pollution. Kaushik said LafargeHolcim is implementing the method of burning garbage without any residue in a furnace with a temperature of 80°C-2,000°C. The Geocycle process burns 100% of the waste, and because it uses garbage instead of fossil fuels, the process does not produce greenhouse gases, he said. Praising the Geocycle system, Dr Farhina Ahmed said the government will implement it if it is found to be environmentally friendly and feasible after on-site inspections. "The necessary guidelines for the implementation of the Sustainable Plastic Management Action Plan will be formulated in consultation with all concerned", she added.  

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."