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Bangladesh annually produces 1,92,104 tonnes of plastic sachet waste, popularly known as mini packs, a recent study has shown.
Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) disclosed the information in a study report tittle "Plastic sachet: Small packet with huge environmental destruction" at its headquarters in the capital on Saturday.
According to the study, the country produces in total 1.06 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste annually.
The study report was prepared based on a survey conducted from June 2021 to May 2022 in Dhaka, Rangpur and Chittagong divisions. 2,375 consumers participated in the survey.
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According to the study, sachets from food items make up 40 per cent of total plastic sachets generate in the country, followed by cosmetic products (24 per cent), medicine (8 per cent), beverages, house cleaning products, cooking ingredients, and others.
Shampoo pack is the most used sachet
In a survey, 69 per cent of people said they buy shampoo sachets, 50 per cent of respondents mentioned buying saline packs, 43 per cent mentioned tomato sauce sachets, 35 per cent mentioned cooking ingredients and instant coffee packs respectively, 30 per cent mentioned instant drinking powder sachets, 29 per cent mentioned toothpaste mini packs and 7 per cent consumer mentioned other sachets like biscuits, cakes etc.
"The packet is small, but its harmful impact is big,” ESDO Secretary General Shahriar Hossain said.
"It is (plastic sachets) not recyclable. It is multi-layered which means many types of heavy metals— chromium, cadmium, lead and adhesive are used here. The sunlight reacts with those chemicals and harms the human body and the ecosystem, Shahriar said.
"It is a slow poison. we are eating biscuits from the sachets which means we are ingesting microplastic and different additives too,” he added.
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Dangerous chemicals released from the sachet and the whole sachet itself mixes with the environment and pollute soil, water and air.
Sea birds and fish ingest microplastic and then it enters the human body through the food cycle, the study report read.
The chemicals in the multi-layered mini packs can harm the lungs, create headaches, and invite reproductive illness and various lung ailments.
Situation in Cox's bazar
It was observed that more than 69,841 tonnes of single-use plastics are produced in Cox's Bazar area and 9,073 tonnes in Kutupalong. Sachet waste was found to be 13, 968 tonnes and 1, 633 tonnes respectively.
"Refill, reuse, and recycle can accelerate circular economy. But these sachets are not recyclable,” Shahriar said.
People's perceptions
34 per cent of people who participated in the survey said they buy mini packs due to those being cheaper. Meanwhile, 80 per cent of people think sachets are harmful to health and the environment.
Some 67 per cent of respondents were in support of making the refilling system available, while 83 per cent of respondents were in favour of banning the sachets altogether.
Refilling system recommended
ESDO recommended several measures, such as establishing a refilling system, imposing a high tax on these products, establishing zero-waste shops, and adopting alternative packaging with papers, leaves and other environment-friendly packaging systems.
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"Plastic, which is a by-product of petroleum, will not be in use when we make the shift to renewable energy. But its harmful impact will remain in the environment for thousands of years,” said ESDO Chairperson Syed Marghub Murshed.
"The government should take note of this issue, as our neighbour India has already banned single-use plastic from July 1,” he added.
