The increasing plastic debris around us is becoming so pervasive that it needs our collective attention. Plastic waste invasion is everywhere. Just look around you, you will see it. Yet most of us are not bothered.
Tackling plastic pollution is a global challenge. Many countries all over the world are still struggling to handle it. But there is no room for complacency. We are one of the top countries that mismanage plastic waste.
Plastic debris is chocking our surroundings, but we keep ignoring it. It hardly finds place in our public discourse. It is surprising that still we are not collectively recognising the growing scourge of mismanaged thin plastic waste in our country.
Increasingly our cities, towns, canals, rivers and countryside are dying and communities are becoming disheartened and unlivable because of irresponsible disposal of plastic debris, especially thin grocery bags, plastic wrap, disposable cutlery, straws, coffee-cup lids, used diapers, etc. All the plastic garbage we now see in the drains and roadside will soon end up being in the rivers and sea when the rains start.
The impact of this pollution on the ecosystems, environment, climate and human health is growing alarmingly and so is the production and use of it. A study published last year revealed that we generate approximately 87,000 tons of single-use plastics annually, with 96% of it discarded as waste. Globally, we produce around 400 million tons of plastic waste, most of which remains unmanaged, posing a serious threat to our natural environment, human health, ecosystems, and marine life.
Given the rapid urbanization happened in last 15 years, our annual per capital plastic consumption in urban areas tripled to 9 kg in 2020 from 3 kg in 2005. In Dhaka alone, over 25 million polyethylene bags are used and discarded daily.
As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, we need more young individuals to focus on addressing the challenges of sustainability and escalating climate effects
In many towns, municipal and domestic waste is consistently discharged into rivers and canals. A prime example is the beach town of Cox’s Bazar, where municipal waste is often seen to be dumped into the River Bakkhali.
Modern facilities have made our life much faster and easy. Single-use plastic may be one of the modern advancements that is cheap and convenient and hence popular worldwide. However, this widespread popularity comes with a heavy environmental cost.
If we want to use this cheap and convenient thing in our daily life, we must take responsibility of proper disposal, recycling and of reducing overall consumption. We are a country of 160 million people in a small piece of land, we cannot afford being irresponsible about plastic debris. Perhaps, one of the best ways to tackle this is to address this issue at our community level.
Almost on every occasion, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Water Resources, talks about the pollution being caused by single-use plastic. She keeps emphasizing on the urgent and collective action against plastic pollution and keeps encouraging the development of safer alternatives by local entrepreneurs.
In 2002, as plastic items often create blocks in the drainage, we proudly became the first country to ban polythene bags and single-use plastics. However, despite this pioneering move, the law was poorly implemented and failed to bring significant change.
Last year, the interim government renewed efforts to tackle this problem by once again enforcing the ban on single-use plastics, beginning with plastic grocery bags. Unfortunately, this initiative has faced similar challenges.
For a healthy living and sustainable future, there is no way but to find out ways to mitigate it. While it's understandable that our waste management facilities are inadequate, this cannot be an excuse to turn our whole country into a plastic wasteland. It's not feasible for the government to manage plastic pollution in every community. Instead, we need stronger communities that are inspired to act and address this issue in their respective area.
While the responsibility of establishing better waste management facilities falls on government and non-govt organisations, tackling environmental challenges requires collective efforts. In fact, greater public engagement is needed to address this crisis and make a lasting impact.
Community-based solutions are inherently sustainable. When people collectively become responsible for the cleanliness and pollution in our communities, change will be inevitable. For that, we need to build collective awareness and community consensus. In every community, we need a group of young and active climate enthusiasts who will raise their voice and bring up this issue in every community program. They will set agendas, promote alternatives and raise awareness, and take concrete actions to ensure proper disposal and cleanliness.
When young people become united, change is always possible. As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, we need more young individuals to focus on addressing the challenges of sustainability and escalating climate effects. With the expected growth of green jobs in the future, this focus will also benefit our youth by providing valuable career opportunities.
We are investing a lot of our public energy into day-to-day political affairs in the country. Some of our public energy should be invested on social and environmental issues like plastic pollution. Change takes time, sometimes it takes a generation. If we want to build a green and clean country and sustainable future for the coming generations, we have to do it now.
* Parvez Uddin Chowdhury is a development worker, writer and climate enthusiast. He can be reached at p.uddinchy@gmail.com