Ziauddin Liton

Plastic and polythene are now spread from the bottom of the ocean to the top of Mount Everest. The use of plastic in Bangladesh is increasing day by day. In the last 15 years from 2005 to 2020, annual per capita plastic consumption has tripled. The plastic products market in Bangladesh is worth 1 billion dollars. According to government estimates, the number of plastic manufacturing companies is around 4,000.

Apart from these, there are thousands of companies are manufacturing plastic without permission. Around five million plastic bottles are sold every minute around the world. For this reason, when polythene, which is harmful to the environment, has become a cause of concern around the world. The use of polythene bags has again been banned in Bangladesh by the initiative of the interim government in 2024. Undoubtedly, this is a good initiative.

The health risks of polythene are many. Polyethylene is responsible for many serious diseases ranging from eye irritation, respiratory problems, liver problems, cancer, skin diseases. When we go to the market, we bring everything in polythene. Even different food items. But these foods wrapped in polythene are responsible for food poisoning. We do not keep fish and meat without polythene. But packing fish and meat in polythene creates anaerobic bacteria. Plastic waste enters the human body in the form of micro and nano particles and causes various hormonal problems. It causes various diseases of the brain and nervous system.

Disrupting sperm and egg production. It causes various skin diseases including cancer. According to a recent study, 85 percent of the world's tap water contains microplastics, from which 21 grams per month and 250 grams per year enter the human body and cause serious damage. Chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenone, organotins, para and para fluoroalkyl, bisphenol A etc. are present in plastic, which can cause obesity, reduced fertility, various neurological diseases. Plastic is not only a threat to public health. This is causing serious impact on the environment and biodiversity. Polyethylene, especially colored polythene, contains lead and cadmium, which are responsible for skin diseases. But without this polythene we are immobile.

Bangladesh was the first country in the world to ban the use of plastic in 2002. During the BNP-led four-party coalition government (2001-2006), the then Environment Minister Shahjahan Siraj took the initiative to make the markets free of polythene. Shajahan Siraj's initiative started 22 years ago was successful for a long time. In 2010, the National Three R policy was introduced for plastic waste management. The National Three R stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The Bangladesh government passed the Jute Packaging Act in 2010 to stop the use of plastic. At the beginning of the Awami League government in 2009, polythene traders could not enter the market, but later, due to the relaxed policy of the government, the market became profitable for polythene.

Recently, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser on Environment, Forestry and weather of the Interim Government, has taken several initiatives to stop the use of plastic polythene after taking charge. Meanwhile, the use of polythene in super shops has been banned from October 1 and the use of polythene in markets has been banned from November 1. 70 percent of waste in water is polythene bags. For this reason, the European Parliament is making a law to ban polythene bags in European countries from 2020. 100 billion polythene bags are used annually in Europe. The use of polythene was banned in Bangladesh in 2002, but it is still being used everywhere. A family in Dhaka city uses an average of four polythene bags a day. In Dhaka alone, 1 crore 4 million polythene bags are used every day. As such, billions of polythene bags are being used every day across the country.

According to a study, plastic used in shops lasts up to 20 years. Plastic used in soft drinks lasts 50 years and plastic used as bottles lasts up to 750 years. Bangladesh produces 3000 tons of plastic waste every day. According to World Bank data, 646 tons of plastic waste is collected in Dhaka every day. In Dhaka 37.2% of total plastic waste is recycled where as 60% of plastic waste produced in Bangladesh ends up on roads and rivers. According to the information given by the concerned ministry, 8 lakh 21 thousand 250 tons of plastic waste is generated in our country every year. Only 40 percent of this is recycled. That is, 2 lakh 28 thousand tons are reused and the rest remains in the environment.

72 countries of the world including Bangladesh have banned the use of polythene. In all the countries, the use of polythene has not been stopped despite the provision of penalties to stop it. The Kenyan government had issued a law to arrest anyone found in possession of polythene. The Irish government has imposed an additional tax to reduce the use of polythene.

Portugal, Spain have taken such steps. A provision was made to arrest anyone found with polythene at the Ugandan airport but this plan could not be implemented as alternatives to polythene were not known. So it is imperative to ban polythene bags in Bangladesh as well as market alternatives to polythene. If not able to do that, this plan of the government will undoubtedly fail. Alternative sources should be made affordable and readily available to remove environmentally harmful polythene bags from the one-time use plastic market.

Jute is the cash crop of Bangladesh. Jute and jute products are not only eco-friendly and easily biodegradable but also contribute a lot to the environment. Currently, more than 8 lakh hectares of jute and jute crops are cultivated in the country. Marketing of jute bags can be ensured. The major reason for the reliance on polythene is that it is affordable and readily available. Polythene manufacturing factories have to be closed down to prevent availability. In this case, initiatives should be taken to develop small bag entrepreneurs with small capital through small and medium industrial loans.

And if this initiative is taken, a large number of small entrepreneurs will be created and employment will be created for the unemployed. Through this, paper bags, chat bags should be ensured to reach the buyers at low prices. The use of paper, cloth and jute bags should be increased as an alternative to polythene. For this, attention should be given to the creation of micro entrepreneurs. It is possible to create entrepreneurs with loans to small and medium enterprises.

This will stop the supply of polythene in the market and increase the demand for cloth, paper and jute bags. And if you can confirm this, undoubtedly many people will come forward to be motivated.

The writer is a eacher, journalist and columnist