Star Activity Report
Mon Jan 17 2022 12:00 AM Last updated on: Mon Jan 17 2022 1:08 AM
Pieces of red-colored plastic of the same type left to dry in the sun at Kamrangirchar before being shipped to be made into recycled plastic pellets. Informal waste pickers collect plastic waste to sell to traders, who then sort it according to quality, shred it and wash it for export. The polymers undergo a melting and compression process to be transformed into recycled plastic pellets, ready to be molded into a new product. The photo was taken recently. Photo: Anisur Rahman
“>
Pieces of red-colored plastic of the same type left to dry in the sun at Kamrangirchar before being shipped to be made into recycled plastic pellets. Informal waste pickers collect plastic waste to sell to traders, who then sort it according to quality, shred it and wash it for export. The polymers undergo a melting and compression process to be transformed into recycled plastic pellets, ready to be molded into a new product. The photo was taken recently. Photo: Anisur Rahman
Bangladesh should undertake long-term plans to establish large-scale plastic recycling and organic waste composting facilities to cope with future growth in waste generation, a new study revealed yesterday suggested.
The solid waste generated here mainly comprises organic matter with low calorific value, says the study on “Current Scenario of Circular Economy in Bangladesh: Issues and Prospects”.
For all the latest news, follow the Daily Star’s Google News channel.Circular economies can actually be built by the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), said Assistant Professor Mohammad Sujauddin from the Department of Environmental Science and Management at North-South University.
He gave a keynote presentation on the study at a seminar on the subject organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in Dhaka.
Regenerative by design to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources, a circular economy eliminates waste and pollution, circulates products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerates nature.
Resilient systems can be created in special economic zones through strict government enforcement of policies, primarily command and control of inputs, processing and production for each industry, Sujauddin said.
The government’s goal of bringing industries from metropolitan cities into special economic zones is certainly the first step towards industrial symbiosis for Bangladesh, but environmental and social considerations are key, he said.
Beza must take precautions through regulatory reforms so as not to face adverse consequences, he added.
“It is wiser to choose a sustainable path for industrialization during the primary phase than to change course after suffering severe repercussions,” Sujauddin said.
Waste recycling mainly improves the quality of life, said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, president of the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Circular economies also ensure the safety of raw materials and job creation, he said, adding that recycling waste could create seven million jobs according to the European Union.
Bijoy, also managing director of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh, said that by 2025 some 78% of brands would phase out suppliers not working on a net zero transition.
Net zero refers to a state where the amount of greenhouse gases produced is equal to the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Similarly, some 61% of companies announced that they would not invest in companies that did not work on a net zero plan, he said.
Economic development should not come at the expense of the environment, said FBCCI Chairman, Md Jashim Uddin.
The annual per capita plastic consumption in Bangladesh is seven to eight kilograms, but in the United States and Japan it exceeds 100 kilograms due to the fact that they can handle plastic waste well, he said. .
A circular economy primarily ensures the reduction, recycling and reuse of goods which also reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions, said Md Shahab Uddin, Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
By 2035, Bangladesh will generate 4.62 million tons of e-waste annually, he said.
Bangladesh has seen incredible growth, said Eun Joo Allison Yi, Senior Environmental Specialist of the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice.
Jobs and industrial growth go hand in hand and cleaner production and the formulation of policies to safeguard the environment are important, she said.
Industry Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said he would form a separate cell within his ministry for waste management with a focus on circular economy.
The Minister also advocated for the use of technologies to transform waste into assets for the circular economy.