Will gradually move toward banning single-use plastic: Rizwana

Users and producers must take responsibility to reduce plastic pollution, said Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today.

She said this while addressing a roundtable, titled "Protecting Dhaka's Rivers and Canals from Plastic Waste through Circular Economy".

The programme was jointly organised by Red Orange Limited and The Business Standard, with the support of United Nations Office for Project Services, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme and the World Bank, under the framework of the PLEASE Project (Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for South Asia).

Speaking as the chief guest, the adviser said they are currently addressing the use of polythene and will gradually move toward banning single-use plastic.

Regarding Dhaka's canals, she said, "We have taken a project to dig 19 canals at a cost of Tk 50-70 crore. We have to face many legal issues while freeing the canals from encroachment. We cannot evict all the encroachments in a short time if we want, as it is a costly process. We do not have much budget for that."

She also said, "We have taken a plan to restore the navigability of four rivers in Dhaka. Buriganga and Turag are already dead, while Dhaleshwari is about to die. There is still life in a few spots of Shitalakkhya. The World Bank has also come forward, as they want to start the work of restoring the Turag as soon as possible."

Adil Mohammed Khan, president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said, "To reduce the use of plastic and polythene, law enforcement agencies and relevant authorities must take the lead. It should not be optional -- it must be made mandatory."

Dhaka South City Corporation's Chief Waste Management Officer Air Commodore Md Mahabubur Rahman Talukder said currently, plastic collection is done informally, and they are only able to collect about 5–7 percent of the waste.

"We need to move toward formal collection systems and emphasise recycling -- especially on-site recycling," he said.

The discussion was conducted by Alok Kumar Majumder, director - programme & operations at Red Orange.

Tabassum Abdullah, additional chief waste management officer (in charge) at Dhaka North City Corporation; AKM Shahid Uddin, deputy managing director (operation & maintenance) of Dhaka Wasa; Dr Mohammad Assaduzzaman, senior policy adviser–climate at Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Shamim Ahmed, president of BPGMEA; Inam Ahmed, editor of The Business Standard; Jannatul Munia, director of strategy at Red Orange; and Helemul Alam, senior reporter of The Daily Star, also spoke at the programme.