The High Court on Monday directed the concerned bodies of the government to ban the carrying, selling, use and marketing of the single-use plastics in the coastal areas and in all hotels, motels and restaurants throughout the country within one year.
The court also directed the government to strictly enforce the existing legal ban on polythene or plastic bags throughout the country through regular market monitoring, shutting down of polythene manufacturing factories and seizure of machineries.
The High Court bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman passed the order and issued rules after hearing a writ petition filed in this regard.
Eleven non-government organizations, including the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), on December 17, 2019, filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking necessary order.
In the rule, the court wanted to know from the respondents to explain as to why they should not be declared that they have failed to enforce the existing legal bans on polythene or plastic bags and regulate hazardous single-use plastics.
The court also wanted to know from the respondents to explain as to why they should not be directed to adopt and implement time bound action plan to introduce safe alternatives to polythene or plastic bags and phase out single-use plastics items from the country by December 31, 2022.
Environment secretary, industries secretary, commerce secretary, water resources secretary, civil aviation and tourism secretary, textiles and jute secretary, director general of department of environment and chairman of Bangladesh plastic products producer and exporters’ association have been made respondents in the rule.
The respondents are asked to submit a progress report in this court on January 5, 2021, over the execution of the directions. The court, however, fixed January 10, 2021, for further hearing on the petition.
Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan and advocate Sayeed Ahmed Kabir appeared in the court on behalf of the writ petition while deputy attorney general Saifuddin Khaled stood for the state.
After the court order, advocate Rizwana said, “Reckless use of the plastics particularly single-use plastic items reducing the fertility of soil, polluting air and harming marine ecology. So it needs to regulate the use of plastics.”
“India banned the use of single-use plastics in its Kerala coastal area and total 127 countries regulate the use of such product in different ways. Besides, a public opinion has been created against the use of plastic products globally,” added the lawyer.
