Experts on Saturday urged the authorities concerned to immediately impose a ban on the single-use plastic in the country to protect the ecosystem and public health.
Single-use plastic (SUP) is the most toxic pollutant in the plastic waste stream; thus it is an urgent need to ban SUP immediately, they added, calling on the government to initiate necessary steps to this effect.
They made the call for banning single-use plastic during a virtual event to observe ‘International Plastic Bag Free Day-2021’ organised by the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) in collaboration with Plastic Solution Fund.
The virtual session also initiated a network on ‘Bangladesh Network for Banning Single-Use Plastic’ and invited different organisations to join this group to work united against plastic pollution.
For enabling the ‘Break Free from Plastic-BFFP’ membership drive, the group is formed to particularly ban single-use plastic items, and urges for legislation to ban single-use plastic in Bangladesh.
ESDO’s Secretary General Dr Shahriar Hossain said that the government alone cannot improve the situation. We need to work together and find an alternative solution. Yet the pathway is a big dream as we, as consumers, are not aware of the adverse effect of the usage of plastic.
Siddika Sultana, executive director of ESDO, said the government should take steps to ensure environmentally safe management of plastic waste.
Different organisations including Prokriti O Jibon Foundation (Nature and Life Foundation), Green Savers, Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), Mati Bangladesh, and Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development forum-CEHRDF attended the webinar and agreed to join the group.
They exchanged their views on the SUP waste management situation in Bangladesh and they were enthusiastic to work for a sustainable environment.
On the occasion of International Plastic Bag Free Day (July 03), ESDO initiated a month-long campaign titled ‘Plastic Free July’ jointly with GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives) and BFFP (Break Free from Plastic).
