Use of polythene paper and bags were banned in the country by laws a few years ago. There was a marked improvement immediately afterwards and it prompted a mercurial rise in use of paper as packing materials. Polythene with a life span of 20 to 2,000 years is almost imperishable and creates environmental hazards as opposed to paper bags which are easily disposable and destroyable and almost benign for the environment. Sadly, the law that prohibited use of polythene as packing material lacked enforcement and polythene soon came back and with it came the problems of waste disposal and environmental hazards.
Bangladesh is ninth in the world in terms of population and 12th in terms of population density. For an overpopulated country with an urban population growth rate of around 3.0 per cent a year, waste management is a Herculean task particularly in larger cities.
This was witnessed during the floods of 1988 and 1998 when the accumulated polythene blocked the drainage system and prolonged the flooding. It may be recalled that in 1998 two thirds of the city was under knee-deep water for nearly two months as polythene clogged its drains.
About 22.4 million tons of waste is generated in Bangladesh annually, which is projected to rise to 47,064 tons per day by the year 2025. More importantly, collection of waste in major cities including Dhaka is only 37 per cent and the rest of it is littered all over the place posing serious threat to environment and public health.
Polythene being non-biodegradable is therefore the most harmful of all types of waste in our households due to its indestructible nature. These waste materials act as a breeding ground for various disease carriers like the deadly female anopheles mosquito responsible for spreading malaria and should be stopped forthwith.
Alternatively, since it is almost imperishable, emphasis should be given to recycling of polythene and the industries should be encouraged to recycle the polythene bags. People should be sensitised about the dangers of improper disposal of the polythene bags so that they leave the waste in designated places. Laws and regulations concerning indiscriminate disposal of polythene waste should be in place. People who dispose of polythene bags indiscriminately should be penalised.
A number of initiatives were taken by the government and non-government (NGOs) mainly to discourage use of polythene paper and bags as packing materials. In 1990, the Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) conducted a mass awareness campaign to draw attention to the problems of polythene bags. In 1999, following the 1998 flood, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) resumed campaign against polyethylene through its Sustainable Environment Management Programme (SEMP) that led to the formation of a Task Force by the Government. The Task Force recommended a detailed study on the issue. The ministry took an initiative to ban the production and trade of polythene bags. From January 1, 2002, polythene bags were banned by law but its enforcement eluded. It's time the law was enforced.
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