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A team from the environment ministry conducts an awareness campaign in Dhaka to encourage the use of alternatives to plastic bags
Published : 01 Nov 2024, 03:03 PM
The government is planning to launch mobile court drives across Bangladesh on Sunday in a bid to crack down on polythene manufacturers.
Tapan Kumar Biswas, additional secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, announced the initiative while conducting an awareness campaign at Krishi Market in Dhaka's Mohammadpur on Friday.
A monitoring team led by Biswas called on the public to switch to jute and cloth bags during the campaign. Shopkeepers were also directed to stop using polythene bags and warned of strict penalties for violations in the future.
The campaign will continue in markets throughout the first week of November, after which stricter measures will be taken.
Biswas, who also leads the ministry’s monitoring team, informed reporters that, starting Nov 3, legal action will be taken against anyone producing shopping bags made of polythene, Biswas told reporters.
District authorities have been instructed to enforce the crackdown, he added.
Although mobile court proceedings will not take place on Nov 1 and 2 due to the weekend, monitoring efforts will continue. Biswas sought the public's cooperation to eliminate the use of banned polythene bags.
Many shoppers at the market were seen carrying more bags from home than usual, though issues remain for carrying wet items like fish and meat.
“I brought a bag from home to carry potatoes and onions, but I still need polythene for fish. We need an alternative for such cases,” said shopper Rabiul Islam.
Plastic bags were still seen at the Krishi Market, but people bringing them from home were allowed to use them temporarily.
The monitoring team explained that while these reusable bags are permitted for now, single-use polythene will be completely phased out.
CLOTH BAGS FOR TK 25
The ministry's team later visited Prince Bazaar and Agora supermarkets in Mohammadpur, where polythene has already been phased out.
These stores now sell cloth bags for Tk 25 and use durable paper bags for fish and meat. Some shoppers, however, expressed concerns about the paper bags’ durability with wet items.
Shamsuddin Omar, manager of Prince Bazaar, said, “We’re committed to protecting the environment. For purchases over Tk 3,000, we provide two bags for free. We also buy back old bags, clean them, and resell them as second-hand items to promote reuse.”
The monitoring team revealed that they have identified several illegal polythene factories. From Nov 3, these factories will be sealed with the assistance of law enforcement, and penalties will be enforced to ensure compliance.
