Steps needed to deal with waste management, waterlogging

Academicians, environment specialists, businesses and cabinet members on Saturday underscored the need for initiating necessary steps to handle waste management and waterlogging issues at the grassroots level across the country.

They also urged the government to identify the mechanisms and institutional arrangements required to co-devise a circular plastic economy and co-create practical and effective policies, in consultation with stakeholders, including brand owners, to intervene in the value chain.

They came up with the call and observation at a seminar titled, “Enabling Policy for Sustainable Plastic Waste Management”, organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in collaboration with Unilever Bangladesh Limited at the Sheraton Dhaka.

Delivering the keynote paper, former dean at the Faculty of Engineering of BUET Prof Ijaz Hossain said, “The main challenge is the lack of technical and financial capability of the municipalities to collect waste from households and process unsegregated waste.

“In the short-term, we could install a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and produce Revised Derived Fuel (RDF) from the waste at a lower cost. However, we need to localise the international models in our country,” he added.

Dr Ijaz informed that the domestic market size of plastic-related products is Tk 40,000 crore, and 20 lakh people work in 5,500 factories.

World Bank’s Senior Environmental Specialist Eun Joo Allison Yi said, “We stand ready to work with the government of Bangladesh as well as the private sector to help programme and finance complementary investments to strengthen plastic waste management, transitioning to a circular economy by promoting new jobs and business innovation in plastic alternatives, invest in city corporation zones, coastal areas to integrate plastic waste education and cleanup, and coordinate policy frameworks to enable and accelerate action for the benefit of the environment and people and green growth in Bangladesh.”

FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin urged the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives and the city corporations to take necessary steps on waste management and waterlogging as the village economy is being vibrant and the use of plastic products is going up gradually.

“If we do not take necessary steps on waste management and waterlogging, we have to face dire consequences in future. The per capita plastic consumption in many countries of the globe is 80-100kg which is now around 10kg in Bangladesh. However, our consumption may rise to 30-35kg by 2030,” he continued.

Jashim said using more plastic items is not the problem rather waste management is the key challenge.

Unilever Bangladesh Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Zaved Akhtar said, “We have taken a few pilot projects in collaboration with the city corporations. We must understand that one or two organisations would probably not be able to solve the problem. It would require the whole business community to come forward and contribute.”

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said waste management is a complex process as it encompasses the involvement of multiple industries and stakeholders.