Bangladesh is being engulfed by plastic

World Environment Day 2023 is all about fighting plastic pollution worldwide. 

With the ongoing heatwave, temperatures are at a scorching high in Bangladesh. As such, it has become vital to deal with one of the most lethal causes of environmental degradation – plastic. 

Studies show that people purchase approximately 1 million plastic bottles every minute and use 5 trillion plastic bags annually. A single plastic wrapper can take as long as 500 years to decompose. 

Scientists worldwide have found plastic in the human gut and in aquatic animals, like zooplankton, that give oxygen into the ocean by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

A study conducted by the World Bank shows that plastic consumption in Bangladesh increased threefold from 2005 to 2020. Christopher Noble, MIT’s corporate engagement director of environmental solutions, states, “Policy innovation and cooperation are needed at the international, national, and local levels to solve plastic waste issues.”

In the recent electoral campaigns in Rajshahi, parts of the city were covered in laminated plastic posters. Despite this severe breach of electoral conduct, no steps were taken to ensure the removal of the posters by the city’s mayor. 

While multiple countries have shown impressive growth in tackling plastic pollution in the last decade, Bangladesh has seen a shameful reduction. The rate of recycling plastic has dropped from 51 percent to 37 percent. Bangladesh has also placed 10th for mismanagement of plastic waste worldwide.

Bangladesh banned single-use plastic bags in 2002, setting a remarkable example in the fight against plastic pollution. However, the ban is rarely followed due to a lack of implementation and enforcement.

Experts suggest that the target should be to cut plastic consumption and regulate production as recycling is not an economically sustainable option.

The United Nations Environment Programme is collaborating with multiple nations to present a resolution that outlines strategies for using alternatives to plastic and its management by 2024. 

Bangladesh has also opened up to the idea of using various plastic alternatives. One such product is the bioplastic ‘Polka’, which uses potato starch to create plastic that decomposes within four to 11 months, depending on the conditions in which it is stored. ‘Polka’ is the creation of Shalbrikkho, a Bangladeshi organisation that uses recycled materials to create products. 

After a century of innovating human life on our planet, plastic has begun choking it. This World Environment Day, we must all aim to acknowledge and eradicate the fatal threat plastic poses to us and the planet we live on.

Reporter's age: 17 | Dhaka