Bangladesh Bans Polythene Bags Again, Sparking Hopes for the Eco-Friendly Sonali Bag’ — Global Issues

by Masum Billah (dhaka)Wednesday, November 27, 2024Inter Press Service

Regardless of its guarantees, the venture has struggled to make important progress attributable to a scarcity of funding. Nevertheless, following the announcement of the polythene bag ban, Mubarak is now going through stress to produce his Sonali bag to a market anticipating sustainable options.

“For the reason that authorities banned polythene luggage, now we have confronted immense stress of orders that we can not meet—individuals are coming in with requests at an awesome charge,” Mubarak Ahmed Khan informed the IPS.

The most recent ban, which got here into impact on October 1 for superstores and conventional markets on November 1, isn’t the primary time Bangladesh has imposed a ban on polythene luggage.

In 2002, the nation grew to become the primary on this planet to outlaw them, as plastic waste was severely clogging metropolis drainage programs and exacerbating its waterlogging disaster, with Dhaka alone consuming an estimated 410 million polybags every month. However the ban regularly misplaced effectiveness over time, largely attributable to a scarcity of reasonably priced and sensible options and insufficient enforcement from regulatory authorities.

Polyethene luggage, though cheaper, are dangerous to the atmosphere as they’re non-biodegradable and their decomposition takes not less than 400 years. Sonali Bag in its place, then again, is thought to be a game-changer as a result of it’s biodegradable, able to decomposing in three months.

The ban comes because the UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations are underway in Busan, South Korea. The UN Atmosphere Programme estimates that all over the world, a million plastic bottles are bought each minute.

“In whole, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use functions—used simply as soon as after which thrown away.”

With out an settlement, the OECD estimates that annual plastic manufacturing, use, and waste are predicted to extend by 70 % in 2040 in comparison with 2020. This on a planet already choking on plastic waste.

The talks have prior to now stalled over a disagreement over the right way to handle waste, with some international locations favouring introducing a cap on plastic manufacturing and others supporting circularity with use, reuse, and recycling as the primary targets.

The plastics treaty talks will run from 25 November 2024 to 1 December 2024.

Nevertheless, regardless of its environmental advantages and better calls for, in Bangladesh the Sonali Bag venture nonetheless stays throughout the pilot section.

A late begin for funding disaster

After Mubarak’s invention made headlines, the nation’s state-owned Bangladesh Jute Mills Company launched a pilot venture, organising a jute-polymer unit on the Latif Bawani Jute Mill to provide Sonali Bag.

Mubarak mentioned they’ve been asking for presidency funds, because the venture has been working below the Ministry of Textiles and Jute. Nevertheless, the fundamental funding that stored the pilot venture working expired final December, and the earlier authorities—which was toppled in August in a mass rebellion—had discontinued the venture.

“There had been assurances that we’d obtain Tk100 crore (about USD 8 million) in funding from the federal government by July. However then got here political unrest and a change in authorities,” Mubarak mentioned.

After the brand new authorities took cost, they renewed the pledges to fund the Sonali Bag venture.

“The interim authorities informed us that we’ll get the cash in January. If that occurs, we will produce 5 tons of luggage per day,” Mubarak mentioned. “5 tons will not be quite a bit, however it can give us the possibility to exhibit our work to non-public traders, boosting their confidence to have interaction with us.”

Based on Mubarak, one kilogram of Sonali luggage quantities to round 100 items of small luggage. Primarily based on this estimate, 5 tons might produce round 15 million luggage per 30 days.

Bangladesh’s present adviser to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, Md. Sakhawat Hossain, informed IPS that they’re significantly contemplating funding the Sonali Bag venture this January, though he acknowledged that his ministry is presently going through a funding disaster.

“The work will start in full scale after the fund is supplied,” Sakhawat Hossain mentioned. When requested if Mubarak would obtain the funds by January, he replied, “We hope so.”

A ban with out satisfactory options at hand

Mubarak Ahmed Khan regards the federal government’s determination to ban polythene luggage as a “praiseworthy” initiative. Nevertheless, he emphasised that sustainable and reasonably priced options to the polythene luggage ought to come quickly.

Mubarak shouldn’t be alone in his issues. Sharif Jamil, founding father of Waterkeepers Bangladesh, a corporation devoted to defending water our bodies, shares skepticism concerning the effectiveness of the ban this time, citing the dearth of sustainable options out there.

“The announcement of this ban is a crucial and well timed step. Nevertheless, it should even be famous that our earlier ban was not enforced. With out addressing the underlying points that led to nonenforcement of the earlier ban, the brand new polythene ban is not going to resolve the prevailing issues. It’s essential to deal with the challenges that allowed polythene to stay out there,” Sharif Jamil informed IPS.

“In the event you don’t present folks with another and easily take away polythene from the markets, the ban gained’t be efficient,” he added.

Sharif famous that the prevailing options out there will not be reasonably priced, with some promoting different jute luggage at Tk25 in supermarkets, whereas polythene luggage are sometimes provided at a worth that’s primarily free.

“Alternate options have to be extra reasonably priced and accessible to the general public,” he mentioned.

Mubarak said that his Sonali bag presently prices Tk10 per piece, however he anticipates decreasing the worth with elevated manufacturing and demand.

The pursuit of competitors in sustainable options

Sharif Jamil, nevertheless, needs competitors within the sustainable options market.

“It’s not solely about incentivizing Dr. Mubarak’s venture,” Sharif mentioned.

This expertise must be incentivized and acknowledged, however the authorities additionally has to make sure two different issues, he mentioned.

“If the federal government could make it accessible to folks at a cheaper price, it can attain them. Secondly, if the choice stays solely with Mubarak, it can create a monopoly once more,” he mentioned.

It should bear competitors, he really helpful. Bangladesh has a contest fee to make sure that different present sustainable inexperienced options in the marketplace are additionally incentivized and acknowledged.

“In addition to facilitating and upgrading Mubarak’s venture, the federal government ought to guarantee honest competitors so that individuals can entry it at a cheaper price,” he added.

For the sake of atmosphere

Adviser Shakhawat Hossain mentioned that they’re optimistic concerning the success of Sonali Bag.

“Already the ambassadors of assorted international locations are assembly me about this. Some shopping for homes too have been created for this. It appears it will likely be a sustainable growth,” he mentioned.

Mubarak mentioned that in the event that they get the funding quickly, Sonali Bag can have a market not solely in Bangladesh however everywhere in the world.

He mentioned the personal traders ought to come ahead not simply because the federal government has banned polythene luggage, however out of an ethical obligation to handle the adverse influence these luggage have on the atmosphere.

“With this, I imagine we will create a polythene-free atmosphere,” Mubarak mentioned, acknowledging, “It’s not simple to introduce this to the market solely as a result of it’s a new product. We’re up in opposition to an USD 3.5 trillion single-use plastic market.”

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