Some Positive Signs We Are looking Now To Build A Polythene and Plastic-free World in the recent future

By Tahsin Taha (Student, Dept. of Law,
North-South University, BD)

Polythene and plastics are being used daily as a wrap of the products of our daily necessities. The one-time usable polythene bags are being used as a shopping bag on a large scale.

After its use, becomes waste and is being dumped here and there. In this way some are being deposited on our farming lands, some are in the drains, drainage channels, canals, lakes, water reservoirs, rivers and most of its final destination is the seas/oceans.

Because of its deposition into the farming lands, the soil is losing its fertility as well as its quality and this is effecting agriculture productivity.

Because of its deposition into drains, drainage channels, canals and clogging in the drainage systems, it causes Municipality drainage congestions

Because of its deposition in the rivers, lakes, water reservoirs, seas/oceans, it is causing water pollution which directly affects the aquatic sectors.

Moreover, the one-time usable plastic bottles are being used as a water, juice container on a large scale. After drinking the water and the juice, it becomes waste and its final destination is into the sea/ocean through drains, canals, rivers. Due to its deposition into the rivers, lakes and finally into the sea and ocean, its causes serious bad effects to the aquatic habitats.

It comes back to the human bodies through sea fish, selfish, seaweed and salt which causes complex disease in the human bodies. The plastic bottles, polythene bags are also intaken with food or as food by the big fishes such as whales, turtles which causes indigestion of them and finally cases their death.

The plastic bottles, polythene bags are also in taken with food or as a food by the big fishes such as whales, turtles which causes indigestion of them and finally causes their death.

Besides this, kitchen waste such as leftover of fish, meat, chicken, vegetable etc. are is being filled up into the used thin polythene bags and then dumped into the dustbin, which causes the serious bad odor to the pedestrians.

Otherwise, these organic wastes can be used to produce biogas and fertilizer by sustainable waste management.

Though Bangladesh Environment Department banned all kinds of production, manufacturing, importing, stocking, marketing, sales, displaying and distribution of polythene shopping bags on 8 April 2002 and it was successful at that time.

But after a few years passed, the illegal production, marketing, sale, and usages of polythene bags increased day by day all over the country. This has become possible due to the lack of monitoring by the respective government offices and the law-enforcing authorities.

It’s the duty of human communities all over the world to ban even a single production and usage of polythene and plastics, the environmental hazardous products.

However, some positive signs we are looking now to build an environmental hazard-free world in the future are –

1) Recently the Hon’ble high court passed an order and the government asked to ban all kinds of one-time usable plastic products in the coastal areas and all types of hotels, restaurants across the country of Bangladesh by 06/02/2020.

2) California and New York of the USA, UK, and some other countries are going to ban the use of polythene and plastics as shopping bags, wrappers of food, garments etc.

3) There are large nos. world-leading companies/Famous Food shops announced the movement to go plastic-free; These are Cost Coffee, Evian, McDonald’s, Asada, KFC, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, American Airlines, Guinness, Sodexo, Red Lobster, United Airlines, Carlsberg,

The Walt Disney Company, Nestlé, Starbucks, Hyatt, Whole Foods; IKEA, Ethique Beauty, Marriott International, Clifbar, etc.

We hope that we will see polythene and plastic-free world in the recent future.