Phase-out of plastic products: stakeholders to implement global practice

Golam Rabbi, a resident of New Eskaton, Dhaka, argued with a clerk at the checkout of a Shwapno supermarket in the area over the Tk11 charge for a gunny bag.

The dispute came after the government banned the use of polythene bags in such shops from October 1, 2024.

Ultimately, Rabbi left the outlet without purchasing about Tk 1,300 worth of groceries, upset over the Tk 11 charge for the gunny bag.

The salespeople tried to explain by showing him the government order banning plastic bags in supermarkets, but he wasn’t convinced.

Incidents like this are becoming more common as retail operators now sell fish, meat and other frozen products in paper bags instead of polybags after the government imposed an embargo on plastic bags in supermarkets.

Bangladesh produces around 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 shopping bags.

Experts said Bangladesh is grappling with a significant plastic pollution problem. The country’s rapid industrialization and growing population have increased the 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 notice on August 27, 2024 calling for the phase-out of single-use plastics (SUP) in 17 sectors in accordance with an order issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on August 27, 2024 on June 20 2024.

The notification orders the immediate implementation of the ban to protect the environment and reduce pollution.

Stakeholders

Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) President Shamim Ahmed told UNB that an inter-ministerial meeting is a must before issuing such an order to ban SUP in 17 sectors, otherwise 6,000 industries will be badly affected and Thousands of affected workers would be unemployed.

“Government officials used to attend such meetings without dealing with the issue on the ground. Therefore, they (officials) do not understand which decision will be fruitful and what is the alternative to plastic products,” he stressed in his long-running report. Time experience.

We recently took part in a workshop on plastic products in Japan and visited Singapore.

BPGMEA President Ahmed said that these developed Asian countries like Bangladesh use plastic in every sector. However, they (Japan and Singapore) collect and recycle 100 percent of plastic waste.

He said that developed countries such as Japan and Singapore have so far been unable to achieve success in using the plastic alternative, given the insufficient supply, higher prices and lack of capacity to use alternative plastic sources.

Most countries in the world are focusing on good management of plastic waste recycling, which has been a good alternative so far, he said.

Citing examples of the export-oriented and domestic packaging sector, Shamim Ahmed said that packaging without plastic iodized salt is not possible, edible oil packaging is not possible without plastic bottles and liquid milk packaging is not possible.

The resolution, adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly on March 2, 2022, focuses on building an effective recycling infrastructure, taking into account the contribution of plastics to the circular economy worldwide.

Shareholder Plastic Waste Management Proposal

The BPGMEA has put forward a proposal to protect the environment and industry from inventing suitable alternatives to plastic products. By developing the right waste management plans for Bangladesh, it has been proposed to turn plastic waste into wealth.

Raise community awareness about disposing of plastic at a designated location, including a waste management curriculum in textbooks, setting up sufficient “dustbins” for plastic waste at various locations including bus stations, parks and sidewalks.

Leverage the Local Government Institute (LGI) to improve knowledge uptake and provide equipment at subsidized prices for setting up plastic waste disposal facilities in urban areas.

Introducing the circular economy of plastics for sustainable waste management through which the government should regulate the provision of technology and provide loans at concessional interest rates for making waste management plans in Bangladesh like other developed countries.

Banning plastic production is not a solution, so Bangladesh should follow suit in this regard, otherwise the operation of the industry would be completely impossible. The food processing, pharmaceutical packaging, hospital equipment, agricultural modernization and export packaging sectors would not function without plastic products. Prohibition measures would hit these industries hard, said industry shareholders.

Statistics of plastics-related industries

According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data released in 2021.

Customer opinion

Unilever Bangladesh, a leading manufacturer of fast-moving consumer goods, is a large customer of many SUP products and markets its products in plastic packaging in Bangladesh and worldwide.

This type of company is not a manufacturer of plastic products, but Unilever is the customer for packaging its products in single-use plastic bags or bottles.

Shamima Akhter, Unilever’s corporate affairs director, told UNB that the publication of an exit list for plastic products was welcome.

However, she emphasized the inclusive dialogue with shareholders on product awareness and priorities for the implementation of the exit plan.

Shamima said that Unilever, with 1.3 million shopkeepers in Bangladesh, markets a large number of products that have been packaged in plastic packaging for a long time, taking into account the quality assurance of products in plastic packaging.

“If an alternative packaging system is developed at a reasonable pace, Unilever will use it until the alternative, essential plastic packaging is invented,” she stressed.

She also emphasized more research on the topic and focused on recycling single-use plastic products as this is not an alternative.