India’s waste pollutes Bangladesh’s environment
About 15,345 tonnes of single-use plastics enter Bangladesh’s 18 transboundary rivers daily from India and Myanmar.
Of those, 2,519 tonnes come from India and 284 from Myanmar. Thus nearly half a million tonnes of single-use plastic waste enters our Bay of Bengal every year.
This information has emerged in a study conducted by the Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO, in several transboundary rivers over the last two years.
According to ESDO, the research has been done in collaboration with Plastic Solutions Fund and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives –
GAIA.This study aimed to promote regional cooperation to reduce the transboundary movement of hazardous plastic waste and consult with governments and regulators to advance policy decisions.
The transboundary rivers of Bangladesh evaluated for this study are Mahananda, Dahuk, Karatoa, Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar, Brahmaputra, Surma, and Kushiara in upstream; Ganga in the case of midstream and Ichamati-Kalindi and Naf rivers in case of downstream.
A total of 7,020 people were surveyed from December 2020 to July 2022 from different parts of the country, including people from general professions such as teachers, students, sailors, fishermen, shopkeepers, etc.
About 11,700 plastic waste samples have been collected from various trans-border and neighboring areas of the country. The survey is conducted through a structured questionnaire to collect and confirm all the data required for the research.
Dr. Shahriar Hossain, The Head of the research team regarding this research, said, “The main objective of ESDO’s research was to analyze the movement of plastic pollution in the water system of our country, especially in transboundary.”
He also believes that this research will help make decisions regarding river ecosystem conservation in Bangladesh.
In this regard, Siddika Sultana, Executive Director of ESDO, said, “It is a cause for concern that Bangladesh is one of the most plastic-polluted countries in South Asia.
The environment pollutes due to plastic manufacturing. Everyone knows this, but the plastic pollution situation in Bangladesh is getting worse day by day. Because this is a global problem, the solution must also be global.”
Dr. Mahfuzul Haque, Adjunct Faculty of Sociology Department of BUP and former Secretary of the Bangladesh Government, said,
“It is not enough for the government to work alone to protect our river. We all need to come forward. Besides, we have to discuss with all the countries from which the single-use plastics are floating for a proper solution.”
Dr. Manzoor Ahmed Chowdhury, Chairman of the National River Conservation Commission, said, “Bangladesh is called a riverine country.
However, this river is now under threat. This terrible single-use plastic, which never decomposes, is responsible for the destruction of our rivers. We hope our government will take appropriate action in this regard.”
