The Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) and the Unilever Bangladesh Ltd (UBL) jointly organised a seminar titled “Innovation for Plastic Circularity” at the Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden on Saturday.
The seminar focused on sustainable plastic waste management which was also the focus of this year’s World Environment Day.
This event was organised to consult with stakeholders, including the private sector companies and policymakers to exchange knowledge and discuss way-forward to reduce the impact of plastic waste.
Unilever Head of Packaging Excellence and Technology Colin Kerr presented his keynote presentation on “Innovation and Inspiration in Packaging for Holistic Plastic Circularity,” where he illustrated the innovations that Unilever has adopted in packaging globally to ensure environment-friendly packaging.
The seminar also featured two panel discussions. The first, titled “Importance of Innovative Design for Plastic Circularity,” was moderated by Zaki Uz Zaman, country representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The second, titled “Importance of Innovation in Collection and Recycling for Plastic Circularity,” was moderated by Shamima Akhter, director - corporate affairs, partnerships, and communications at the UBL.
Attending the seminar as the chief guest, Planning Minister MA Mannan said, “Today’s exhibition titled 'Innovative Materials and Packaging' gave us the opportunity to see innovations in plastic packaging closely. We are committed to supporting industry for a circular economy.”
Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Saber Hossain Chowdhury said, “Our previous model of using natural resources was linear. As a result, when we become a trillion-dollar economy 12 to 13 years from now, the level of environmental pollution, especially plastic pollution, will increase manifold.
“Plastic pollution doesn't just harm the environment, it also endangers public health. However, in case of plastic pollution, the key solution will be to reduce mismanagement of plastic waste. Coordination between producers and the country's policymakers will play a vital role in this,” he added.
Unilever Bangladesh CEO and Managing Director Zaved Akhtar, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Senior Vice-President Amin Helaly, and BPGMEA President Shamim Ahmed also spoke at the event.
