Dhaka, June 4 – Traders are importing Tk 2,000 crore worth of plastic raw-materials every year in the country, which seriously created an adverse impact on the environment. Crores of plastic bottles, polythene bags, and other plastic products are produced from these imported raw materials in the country around the year, green activists said on Monday.
Against this backdrop, the World Environment Day will be observed today (Tuesday) with the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
Green activists and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) have demanded of the government to stop production of plastic materials to prevent environmental pollution.
“About 95 lakh polythene bags were used daily in Dhaka during 1990 and it crossed now about to two crore bags. Besides, the waterlogging situation has increased now compared to 1990s,” Abdus Sobhan, former additional director general of the department of environment told The Independent.
The uses of paper made bags, cloth bags and jute made bags were increased after banning the use of polythene during 2002, he said.
“The employment generation was increased both in urban and rural levels after banning the polythene bags. Many women and youths had started their business with paper, jute, and cloth made products. It was found in big towns including capital city Dhaka to sell their products—but now it has reduced due to the return of polythene bags in the markets, Sobhan, who is also general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA) told this correspondent.
He said Bangladesh is a riverine country and most of the rivers and wetlands become under threat due to the dumping of polythene bags and other plastic materials indiscriminately putting the environment and total eco-system into the dire threat.
“Most of the used plastic materials are not recycled and dumped it directly to open places. As a result, such poly bags are depositing in seas, rivers, canals, ponds and other wetlands through water which also causing for changing the eco-system too,” the green activist said.
According to Siobhan, the government should stop such products immediately by applying the existing laws for the sake aquatic lives.
A section of traders are involved in importing plastic raw-materials of Tk 2,000 crore every year to kill the environment by producing plastic materials and polythene bags, he said.
TIB’s executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman has demanded of the government to stop manufacturing, marketing and illegal production of plastic applying the existing laws strongly to prevent environmental pollution in the country.
“Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world. Bangladesh is the first nation in the world who banned production of polythene bags in 2002. But, we are yet to get the positive result despite banning the polythene,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He also demanded to maintain transparency in spending money to run pollution prevention projects from the climate change fund.
“Plastic materials are being used and dumped in front of law enforcing agencies indiscriminately. At least three lakh tonnes of plastic wastes are dumped into rivers, canals, and wetlands annually. Such pollution should be stopped immediately by shutting down the illegal production of polythene bags and plastic materials,” Iftekharuzzaman said.
It is State’s Constitutional responsibility to conserve the environment, ecology, development of natural resources, wetlands, wildlife, and forest, he said adding that the government should strengthen the diplomacy to release the fund that committed by the international community to give the money for vulnerable countries to climate change as per Paris agreement. – Staff Reporter
